The only way to speed up the peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia is to help the Ukrainians with military supplies. This Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made the statement during her speech in the Senate, ANSA reported.
Photo: ANSA
Meloni promises to support Ukraine
“The only way to promote negotiations in conflicts is to establish balance. Unless you want to tell me that peace is achieved by surrender, peace is achieved by continuing to support Ukraine, allowing it to defend itself”, Meloni said.
Meloni also stressed that even if Italy withdrew its military support to Ukraine, the West would continue to help. It is vital for Italy to maintain its international credibility.
“Therefore, it would not change the result for Ukraine, but it would change the approach that others will have to us, to our trust, reliability, even at the commercial level”, – the Italian Prime Minister explained.
Italy is moving away from dependence on Russian gas
Meloni stated that moving away “from dependence on Russian gas should not lead to a dependence on Chinese raw materials,” and that Italy will have to overcome bureaucratic blockages. She stated that the country needs to restart drilling in the Adriatic pointing out that the gas is extracted by others as well. This, according to Meloni, should transform the South “into the energy hub of Europe”.
Meloni noted that Italy’s export to Russia is about 1%, and with the rest of the West – about 80%.
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Meloni became the first female Prime Minister of Italy. Even though Meloni leads a coalition of far-right and right-wing parties that came to power in the country for the first time since the beginning of the Second World War, she emphasized her persistent support for Ukraine.
In her first address to the Italian Chamber of Deputies, she said Italy would not succumb to Putin’s energy blackmail and would remain a partner of Ukraine.
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