It will soon be clear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has real intentions to make peace with Ukraine, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said today, quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
Crosetto, co-founder of the ruling party of right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, also said that European countries should not ignore the difficulties that Ukraine and Russia will face when they transition from a war economy to normal activity.
US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Moscow next week to discuss the latest version of the US draft treaty. Moscow has described the ongoing discussions on the plan as "serious", but European leaders have expressed skepticism, AFP recalls.
"I don't know what Putin has in mind," Crosetto told the media at the Italian embassy in Paris after meeting with his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin.
"We hope that this time Russia will really want to sit at the negotiating table. I am not optimistic," he added, noting that Russia is still recruiting troops and increasing its military investment. "In the coming weeks we will see - it won't take long to find out - whether Putin has a real intention" to make peace, the minister noted.
He also warned of the risk that while Europe helps Ukraine recover, it could turn a blind eye to the post-war transition in Russia, which could lead to a renewed conflict.
"Remember what happened in Europe when, after World War I, veterans returned home and created the conditions for the rise of Nazism and fascism", he said, referring to the rise of dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. "Think of the two and a half million Russians who, having earned three times the normal Russian salary, will return home and will have to find work. What instability this will create in Russia!"