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UKRAINE

Italian foreign minister to visit Kyiv and Moscow for crisis talks

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will fly to Kyiv on Tuesday ahead of a visit to Moscow for talks aimed at averting a Russian invasion, ministry sources said Monday.

Italian foreign minister to visit Kyiv and Moscow for crisis talks
Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio. Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s office confirmed Di Maio was expected on Wednesday, AFP reports.

“We are determined to pass clear, unified, firm messages to Moscow… that discourage any aggression or escalation,” Di Maio said at a meeting with Qatar’s foreign minister earlier on Monday.

Italy is working “in close coordination with our European partners and allies, NATO and OSCE”, he said, on stopping a crisis considered the worst threat to the continent’s security since the Cold War.

Di Maio on Saturday issued a statement urging “all Italian citizens present in Ukraine to return home by commercial means and to postpone all trips” to the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded a rollback of Western influence in eastern Europe and a ban on Ukraine joining NATO.

The United States has warned that Russia’s forces are poised to attack Ukraine, and the western allies have prepared what they warn would be a crippling package of economic sanctions in response.

Putin recently stressed the importance of ties between Russia’s energy industry and Italian businesses in an address to Italian business leaders.

“I would like to underscore that we consider Italy as one of the leading economic partners,” Putin said, according to Reuters, noting that Italian energy companies were benefiting from long-term supply deals with Gazprom.

The online meeting with top Italian companies, including state-controlled energy firm Enel, went ahead despite a call from the Italian government for business executives not to attend amid rising tensions with Ukraine.

Energy is one of the main issues on the agenda for Europe as surging natural gas prices have inflated energy bills for businesses and households.

Russia supplies the European Union with around a third of its gas, with Italy particularly reliant on gas supplies.

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UKRAINE

Italy warns against ‘rash’ moves over arms to Ukraine

Italy's foreign minister on Saturday reiterated his opposition to Ukraine using Italian weapons inside Russia, warning of a "delicate" situation where "rash" moves must be avoided.

Italy warns against 'rash' moves over arms to Ukraine

Support is growing among NATO allies for allowing Ukraine to use Western-donated weapons to strike inside Russian territory – but Rome, a founding member of the alliance, remains opposed.

“It is a very delicate moment, we must not make false steps” and must avoid “rash steps and declarations”, Antonio Tajani told a meeting in Rapallo, northwest Italy, according to the AGI and ANSA news agencies.

He added that “even the US has not authorised the indiscriminate use of its weapons against Russia, but only to strike a base from where the drones depart. They too are very cautious”, AGI reported.

Tajani added that Italy would send another package of aid to Ukraine within “weeks”.

But he repeated that “we will not send even one Italian soldier to fight in Ukraine because we are not at war with Russia”, AGI reported.

Germany said on Friday it had given Ukraine permission to fire German-delivered weapons at targets in Russia.

READ ALSO: Berlin allows Ukraine to fire German weapons at targets in Russia

The day before, US officials said Washington had partially lifted similar restrictions to allow Ukraine to defend its eastern Kharkiv region, which borders Russia.

The change in Washington’s thinking was attributed by US officials to Russia’s daily pounding of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city.

Russia fired a combined 100 missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight, in a barrage that targeted energy sites across the country, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.

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