Premier Giorgia Meloni said it is important to keep up the pressure on Moscow in order to reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine as she reported to the Lower House on Wednesday before this week’s EU summit.
“It is important to maintain pressure on Russia which, contrary to what the propaganda says, is bogged down in a very tough war of position at the cost of enormous sacrifices,” Meloni said.
“This difficulty is the only thing that can force Moscow to an agreement”.
She stressed that Italy does not intend to “abandon Ukraine in the most delicate moment of the last few years”.
She also said that the EU and the United States are not “competitors” when it comes to bringing about peace in Ukraine, stressing that this week’s talks in Berlin on this issue featuring European leaders, US negotiators and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took place in a “constructive, united climate”.
She said that the question of eventual territorial concessions was the most difficult problem to solve in the talks.
She argued that Zelensky saying any territorial concessions would have to be put to a referendum showed he was in good faith.

She also reiterated that Italy would not send any troops to Ukraine as part of a multinational force sent there if a ceasefire agreement is reached.