Italy will not send its troops to Ukraine - Meloni
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed doubts about the implementation of the idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, proposed by France and the United Kingdom, and confirmed that Italy will not send its military.
She said this in an interview with Rai 1 Secolo TV channel, Censor.NET reports.
"Regarding the proposal to send European soldiers put forward by France and the United Kingdom... I think it is very difficult to implement, I am not sure of the effectiveness, which is the reason why, as you know, we have announced that we will not send Italian soldiers to Ukraine," Meloni said.
As noted, this decision answers the question of Italy's participation in international peacekeeping missions in Ukraine, although during a recent meeting in London, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Meloni discussed joint steps to end the war in Ukraine.
Peacekeeping forces in Ukraine
Earlier it was reported that French President Emmanuel Macron would discuss with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk the deployment of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine in the event of an agreement to end the current phase of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk denied that Polish troops would be sent to Ukraine after the ceasefire.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas assessed the possibility of sending a European peacekeeping mission to Ukraine.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crozetto expressed his readiness to support a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine if peace is achieved.
In turn, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called these discussions "premature."
Germany, together with its partners, will consider the possible deployment of peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of "security guarantees" only after the conditions are created, namely a ceasefire with Russia.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has stated that several countries are currently considering participation in a potential contingent of Western allies in Ukraine. However, specific plans for the deployment of foreign troops are still under discussion.
