POTENTIAL CONFLICT IN FOREIGN AIRSPACE.

Narrative

WE WERE CLRED DIRECT FROM ELB TO GEN BY ROME CTR THEN OVER TO MILAN ATC. ON AT LEAST 2 SEPARATE OCCASIONS; WE ADVISED MILAN THAT THEIR RADIO XMISSIONS WERE CUTTING OUT. AT APPROX 10 NM S OF GEN VOR; WE RECEIVED AN RA ON TCASII INDICATING INTRUDER TFC AT 12 O'CLOCK; OPPOSITE DIRECTION; AT SAME LEVEL. HE MAY HAVE BEEN DSNDING -- WE TOOK EVASIVE ACTION AND DSNDED TO FL270. OTHER TFC SEEMED TO TURN TO L (E). ATC DID NOT WANT TO DISCUSS THIS AND HANDED US OVER TO ANOTHER CTLR. WE HAD JUST RECEIVED A CLRNC TO FL310 ABOUT 30 SECONDS PRIOR TO THIS EVENT -- MUCH TOO CLOSE TO OPPOSITE TFC. I BELIEVE WE WERE PUT IN A VERY PRECARIOUS SIT -- BORDERING ON CRIMINAL -- HAD WE NOT TAKEN IMMEDIATE ACTION; WE WOULD PROBABLY BE PART OF THE CITY OF GENOA. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 282208: WE WERE IN CONTACT WITH MILAN ATC ON 125.27 AT XA31 UTC. WE WERE CLRED FROM FL280 TO FL310. WE ACCELERATED FOR APPROX 30 SECONDS TO 1 MIN PRIOR TO INITIATING OUR CLB TO FL310. I NOTICED A YELLOW TA ON THE TCASII AT ABOUT 800 FT ABOVE US DSNDING. AT ABOUT 10 MI; THE ACFT CONTINUED ON A CONVERGING COURSE. I HAD THE ACFT VISUALLY. AT ABOUT THE TIME OF VISUAL CONTACT WE RECEIVED A TCASII RA TO DSND. WE ADVISED MILAN ON 3 OCCASIONS THAT WE WERE NOT RECEIVING HIS XMISSIONS. HE ADVISED US TO CHK OUR VHF. ALTHOUGH WE HAD A VISUAL REF WITH THE OTHER ACFT; I FEEL THE TCASII WARNING PROVIDED US WITH THE ADDITIONAL DATA THAT GAVE US A SAFETY MARGIN WE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD WITHOUT IT.