Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani distanced himself from his coalition colleague Matteo Salvini on Monday after the far-right leader welcomed the outcome of Russia's elections.

Tajani had on Sunday declared that the vote, in which President Vladimir Putin was re-elected, was "neither free nor fair".

But on Monday, transport minister Salvini -- who, like Tajani, is also a deputy premier in Giorgia Meloni's coalition government -- quipped that "when a people vote, they are always right".

"Elections are always a good thing, whether you win or lose," said the leader of the far-right League party.

Asked about the comments, Tajani -- head of the right-wing Forza Italia party -- told reporters in Brussels: "Foreign policy is made by the foreign minister."

Salvini has previously expressed his admiration for Putin and was even pictured wearing a T-shirt bearing a picture of the Russian president.

But Meloni, the leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, has strongly backed Ukraine in its war with Moscow.

Salvini also caused headlines last month when he said it was "up to Russian doctors and judges" to determine the causes of the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Navalny's team says the 47-year-old was murdered while Western countries have blamed Russian authorities for his death in a remote Arctic prison.