Ukraine's European allies must appoint a single representative to negotiate with Russia to end the war, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said today in two speeches before both chambers of the Italian parliament, in which she presented the Italian position for the upcoming EU summit at the end of next week, Reuters and ANSA reported, quoted by BTA.
Meloni developed the idea of a single European representative to talk to Russia about the war in Ukraine at his annual press conference on January 9, ANSA recalls.
On Sunday, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany – united in an informal security alliance called the "European Troika" – met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in London and said they supported Kiev's offer to negotiate with Russia to reach a ceasefire.
Meloni, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, said Europe should "establish contact" with Moscow to stop the conflict, but no limited group has "legitimacy to speak" on behalf of all.
The Italian prime minister's comment echoed views expressed by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a former president of the European Council, Reuters notes. Earlier this week, he complained that Poland had not attended a meeting with Zelensky in London on Sunday. Then Tusk said that there would be a new meeting on Ukraine, in which Italy and Poland would also participate.
"I have long supported the need to identify an authoritative figure who would receive the trust and mandate of all member states (of the European Union – note. Reuters) to represent Europe", Meloni said today.
She also said that Europe must maintain its support for Kiev and continue to exert pressure on Moscow, which is why her government supported the latest package of sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia, ANSA reported.
"We support the defense of Ukraine and our position has remained unchanged. "Supporting Kiev and maintaining pressure on Moscow remain the only way to start a round of negotiations," the Italian leader said, quoted by ANSA.
The Belarusian news agency BelTA recently reported that in a telephone conversation between the presidents of Belarus and France, Alexander Lukashenko, and Emmanuel Macron, Lukashenko told Macron that Meloni could not be Europe's negotiator with Moscow on Ukraine because she was a woman, and suggested that Macron take on this task.
Regarding Ukraine, in his speech to both chambers of parliament, Meloni said that efforts to establish peace in that country also require stronger coordination between Europe and the United States, noting that this is “not always easy, but a necessary challenge,”, Reuters reported.
In his speech, Meloni also touched on the topic of Iran. "The EU must be ready to impose new sanctions on Iran if Tehran does not help end the crisis in the Middle East", Meloni also said.
"If Tehran continues to go down the wrong path, the EU must be ready to increase pressure through new targeted measures", the Italian Prime Minister said, quoted by Reuters.
The Italian Prime Minister also said that the recent comments and behavior of the Israeli far-right Minister of Internal Security Itamar Ben-Gvir towards Italy are "unacceptable from an Italian point of view and are unworthy as far as Israel is concerned", ANSA reported.
Meloni recalled that Italy had requested the sanctioning of Minister Ben-Gvir for his unacceptable behavior towards Italian citizens. It refers to the interception by Israeli forces of another humanitarian flotilla to Gaza and the taking of the activists on board to Ashdod. There they were ridiculed by Ben-Gwir, who said that they wanted to be heroes. The activists, including an Italian parliamentarian and an Italian journalist, were forced to kneel, handcuffed and blindfolded, and the words "Welcome to Israel" were addressed to them. The parliamentarian and the journalist reported upon their return to Italy that they had been subjected to humiliation and even spoke of ill-treatment. An investigation was opened against Ben-Gwir for alleged kidnapping and torture in connection with the treatment of the Italians on the Gaza flotilla. After learning that he was under investigation, Ben-Gvir compared Italy to a "bakery shovel."
In his speech today, Meloni said that Italy also supports imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank who incite hatred and extremism, ANSA reported.
In her speech, the Prime Minister also spoke about Italy's upcoming participation in the NATO summit in Antalya in early July. She said that at this forum, she would be able to announce that Italy has made significant progress towards achieving the goal of spending 5 percent of GDP per year on defense and security. “We are ready to assume our responsibility regarding defense and we will reiterate this at the NATO summit, where Italy will go with 2.8 percent of GDP invested in defense and security“, said Meloni. “I announce that there is an increase of 0.71 percentage points, mainly due to spending related to security on the country's territory“, she added.
Meloni also commented on topics on the European agenda and said that she is against the abolition of unanimous voting on key European decisions, ANSA reported. “I do not agree with giving up unanimity in decision-making within the EU“, Meloni said. “I do not think the EU should be a club where the strongest impose their will on the rest. Politicians can reach their own decisions, even on the most divisive issues, like Ukraine. Europe's problem is something else. The question is to what extent decisions are respected and to what extent they are overturned,“ she said.