Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for Europe to engage directly with Russia and proposed the appointment of a special European envoy to deal with Moscow. This is according to Politico, which reported on her speech from Rome.
„I believe it is time for Europe to talk to Russia too,“ Meloni told a press conference in Rome. According to her, the problem is that Europe is communicating with only one side of the conflict. „If Europe is only talking to one actor on the battlefield, I fear its contribution will be limited,“ Politico quoted the prime minister as saying.
Meloni followed up on the French president's call Emmanuel Macron, who in December called for renewed dialogue with the Kremlin. Moscow responded at the time by claiming that the Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed his willingness to participate in the negotiations.
According to Meloni, Europe urgently needs a unified and coordinated approach, otherwise „risks doing Putin a favour“. Since the beginning of the debates on a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, she said, too many uncoordinated voices have been raised, which weakens the European position. That is why she has long supported the idea of appointing a European special envoy on the Ukraine issue.
Peace talks to end the war, which Russia launched in February 2022, have accelerated in recent weeks after Donald Trump returned to the White House, according to Politico. But Moscow has not yet indicated that it is willing to make major concessions.
Moreover, the United States proposed in November that Russia be readmitted to the G7. But Meloni called it a „completely premature“ and clearly rejected the idea that Russia's return to the world's seven most advanced economies could now even be considered.
The Italian prime minister also spoke out against the idea of Italy joining France and the UK in sending troops to Ukraine to guarantee a possible peace deal. She said this would not be necessary if Ukraine received collective defence guarantees along the lines of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Moreover, a small contingent of foreign troops would not constitute a real deterrent against a significantly stronger Russian force, according to Meloni.
She also commented on Donald Trump's harsh rhetoric towards Greenland. She said she would not approve of a possible military takeover of the island by the United States. „I don't believe the US would take military action in Greenland. I would not support that and it would not benefit anyone,“ she told reporters.
However, Meloni added that she believes the Trump administration is using „very assertive methods“, to highlight the strategic importance of Greenland to American security. At the same time, she objected to Trump's statements that he does not need international law. „International law must be defended,“ she stressed, although she admitted that disagreements between allies are common because their national interests are not always identical.
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