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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will no take part in an upcoming video conference proposed by UK and France, in which a so-called “coalition of the willing” intends to increase military support for Ukraine, La Repubblica and La Stampa newspapers have reported.
In its article on Tuesday, La Repubblica said that “it is certain” that Meloni will boycott the virtual meeting of the Western European leaders being convened by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday.
The Italian PM reportedly “distances herself from the Franco-British axis” due to her disagreement with the push by London and Paris to send peacekeepers to aid Kiev. Meloni believes that Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are “rushing ahead” with their idea, according to La Repubblica.
The move by Rome could “split the front that Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are trying to build,” La Stampa noted.
The media outlet claimed that the Italian authorities had decided to drop out of the video conference after extensive discussions with other governments, including the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Starmer announced that the UK and France are ready to lead a “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine with troops and aircraft during an emergency summit in London in early March. This came shortly after Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky had a public disagreement at the White House, where Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of opposing peace with Russia and being ungrateful for US assistance.
Shortly after the summit, Meloni stressed that “Italy will not be sending troops to Ukraine.” She suggested that European politicians should instead focus on developing conditions for a just and lasting peace between Moscow and Kiev, including security guarantees for Ukraine.
Earlier this week, the Italian PM expressed “satisfaction” with the outcome of the talks between the US and Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which ended with Kiev agreeing to an “immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire.” She said that Rome “fully supports” Trump’s peace efforts and that “the decision is now up to Russia.”
Moscow has said repeatedly that it would not accept a temporary ceasefire with Kiev, insisting that the conflict must be settled through reliable, legally binding agreements that would eliminate its root causes. Russia has also categorically ruled out the possibility of Western European peacekeepers arriving in Ukraine.
Russia not interested in temporary Ukraine deal – Putin aide
Russia is not interested in temporary solutions to the Ukraine conflict and instead wants to achieve a lasting peaceful settlement that takes Moscow’s interests and concerns into account, President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov has said.
©Stanislav Krasilnikov;Photohost agency brics-russia2024.ru
His comments come as US envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow to present the results of talks between representatives from Kiev and Washington in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, after which they released a joint statement backing a 30-day ceasefire.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said as far back as July 2024 that Moscow is not interested in short-term pauses. He also confirmed on Thursday that Russia is ready for a ceasefire but that the terms of such an arrangement should be clarified.
In an interview with Russia-1 TV on Thursday,
Ushakov outlined Moscow’s goal of “a long-term peaceful settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of our country and our known concerns,” a position consistently reiterated by Russian officials since the escalation of conflict in 2022.
The presidential aide stressed that steps that only “imitate peaceful actions are not needed by anyone,” adding that a ceasefire in Ukraine would likely be “nothing more than a temporary respite for the Ukrainian military.”
Ushakov also confirmed that he regularly holds phone calls with US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and that he has already explained Moscow’s position on the ceasefire proposal to him. He noted that President Putin will likely provide a more detailed assessment of the situation in Ukraine and the ceasefire initiative during a press conference later on Thursday.
Meanwhile, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Moscow and is preparing to hold talks with the Russian side, presumably to inform of the results of the Jeddah talks and the details of the Ukraine ceasefire proposal.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has hinted that US-Russia talks could take place in the near future, perhaps even later on Thursday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also confirmed that US negotiators are already on their way to Russia but has not disclosed whether or not Putin intends to meet with Witkoff on Thursday.
Moscow has previously spoken out against any temporary truce in the Ukraine conflict, arguing that Kiev would simply use it to rearm and continue fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that a resolution to the conflict must address the root causes in order to establish a long-lasting peace.
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