Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived on Saturday on a surprise visit to Italy. kyiv, where she will chair a virtual meeting of the G7 in the presence of Volodymyr Zelensky which should discuss new sanctions against Moscow. The G7 meeting, currently chaired by Italy, is expected to discuss new sanctions against Moscow two years after the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022. “Italy is present (alongside Ukraine, Editor's note), I think it shows, it is present even more so now as president of the G7. We continue to guarantee our support” , Ms. Meloni told the press on the sidelines of a cremony at the Gostomel military airport, near Kiev, and scene of a key battle with the Russians in the first days of the invasion. “We believe in the European future of Ukraine,” she also affirmed in an interview published on Saturday by the Italian daily Il Giornale. “Italy has always supported the process of Ukraine's accession to the European Union and we are very satisfied with the ongoing progress in this direction.” According to the Italian agency AGI, Ms. Meloni and Mr. Zelensky will open the meeting at 4:00 p.m. GMT at St. Sophia Cathedral in central Kiev. In video images transmitted by the government, Ms. Meloni can be seen getting off the train on Saturday morning at Kiev station and being greeted by a delegation. According to Italian media, Ms. Meloni flew to Poland, where she then took a train to Ukraine. This meeting is the first of heads of state and government of the G7 member countries (United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada) under Italian presidency. – Italy-Ukraine Agreement – It was convened “on the occasion of the second anniversary of Russian aggression against Ukraine”, at a time when Kiev recognizes an “extremely difficult” situation for its forces, deprived of ammunition and American aid, the Italian government said on Tuesday in its announcement. At the end of the meeting, which is expected to last an hour and a half, a joint statement on Ukraine is expected to be adopted, according to Italian diplomatic sources. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Tuesday that “sanctions can be toughened.” “Russia strongly feels the weight of economic sanctions”, he justified The G7 decided in July 2023 to sign bilateral security contracts with the Ukraine. After London in January, kyiv signed this type of agreement with Germany and France, and 25 other states joined this initiative, such as Poland. Giorgia Meloni and Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to sign such an agreement on Saturday. “Today we will sign our security guarantees. We believe that Ukraine is also fighting for our freedom and also for our national interest,” Ms. Meloni explained to the press. Concretely, these security agreements may concern the granting of military equipment, interoperable with that of NATO, the training of Ukrainian forces and the strengthening of Ukraine's defense industry.< /p> All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse
By Teilor Stone
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116