Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni says European nations must collaborate with the U.S. to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, has dismissed the idea of Italy contributing troops to a military force that the UK and France are proposing to send to Ukraine if a peace agreement with Russia is reached.
In early March, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron stated their countries’ readiness to spearhead a “coalition of the willing” of pro-Ukraine European nations to support Kiev with soldiers and aircraft. This announcement came after the start of bilateral discussions between Moscow and Washington aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict, from which the EU and UK were excluded.
Following a summit of Ukraine’s supporters in Paris on Thursday, attended by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Meloni restated that Rome has “no plans for national participation in any potential military force on the ground.”
According to a statement from the Italian Prime Minister’s office, she also “emphasized the importance of continued collaboration with the US to halt the conflict and achieve peace” between Russia and Ukraine, and “expressed hope for the presence of an American delegation at the next coordination meeting” of Ukraine’s European allies.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Friday, Meloni asserted that it is “childish” to force Italy to choose between the US and the EU.
Instead of deploying a “reassurance force,” as London and Paris are calling it, to assist Kiev, she suggested extending NATO’s mutual defense clause to Ukraine without formally making it a member of the alliance led by the US, arguing this would be “easier and more effective than the other ideas that are on the table.”
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic also stated on Thursday that his country “will not be involved in Ukraine in any form.” He explained that Zagreb would not participate in the peacekeeping force because “the necessary conditions are simply not met – there is no peace agreement, nor the consent of the other side, which in this case is Russia.”
Russia has firmly rejected the possibility of European troops aligned with NATO being deployed to the conflict area. They accused France and Britain of devising plans for “military intervention in Ukraine,” which could result in a direct military confrontation between Russia and the bloc. Moscow also alleged that London and Paris are intentionally heightening tensions to undermine efforts by the US and Russia to resolve the conflict.