Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Thursday that Russian President Antonio Tajani was staging a multifaceted “hybrid war” including threats against the West on top of Moscow’s military attacks on Ukraine, adding that this is to be expected.

He also reiterated that Italy will not be among the Western nations to allow Kyiv to use the weapons its provides to hit targets in Russian territory.

“Putin is conducting a hybrid war and trying to scare Europe and the West, but that is part of the game,” Tajani told Mediaset television.

“We will not send soldiers to Ukraine and we will allow our weapons to be used in Russia”.

On Wednesday Putin again alluded to the possible use of nuclear weapons, saying “all means are at our disposal to defend our integrity”.

Tajani also commented on what Putin said on Wednesday about Italy being less Russophobic than other Western nations.

“We do not have to be aligned with anyone: if anything, it is the others who are not aligned with us,” the minister said.

“The EU and NATO are united in defending Ukraine and we agree with that without hesitation.

“That is one thing, but it is another to use weapons in a non-defensive manner”.

Responding to a question from ANSA on Wednesday during a meeting with some top international news agencies, Putin said: “We see that Italy’s position (towards Russia) is more restrained than other European countries and we take that into consideration.

“We hope that when the situation regarding Ukraine begins to stabilise, we will be able to re-establish relations with Italy, perhaps even faster than with some other countries,” he continued.