Meloni warned that Europe needs a coordinated approach or\u00a0\u201crisks doing Putin a favor.”<\/p>\n
Since the beginning of negotiations over a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, “many voices have been speaking out, and that’s why I’ve always been in favor of appointing a European special envoy on the Ukrainian issue,” Meloni said. <\/p>\n
Peace talks aimed at ending the all-out conflict, which Russia launched in February 2022, have accelerated with U.S. President Donald Trump back in the White House, but Moscow has not indicated that it is willing to make concessions.<\/p>\n
The U.S. in November proposed that Russia be readmitted to the Group of Seven leading nations. But Meloni said it was \u201cabsolutely premature\u201d to talk about welcoming Russia back to the G7 fold.<\/p>\n
Meloni also emphasized that Italy would not join France and the U.K. in sending troops to Ukraine to guarantee a potential peace deal, because it was \u201cnot necessary\u201d if Ukraine signed a collective defense agreement with Western allies modeled on NATO’s Article 5 collective-defense provision. She suggested that a small contingent of foreign troops would not be a serious deterrent against a much larger Russian force.<\/p>\n