ROME, February 14. /TASS/. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio may visit Moscow and Kiev this week with respect to the situation around Ukraine, Italy’s La Stampa daily reported on Monday.

As Corriere della Sera also said, if a decision is made at a meeting of NATO ministers of defense on February 16-17 to strengthen the alliance's presence in Eastern Europe, up to 2,000 Italian military personnel can be sent to Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. The article stressed that however, the new military mission must be authorized by the parliament of the republic. Furthermore, permission from the host countries will be also required.

Earlier, the Italian Foreign Ministry advised all citizens to leave Ukraine and refrain from traveling to this country.

The West and Kiev have recently been echoing allegations about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded", serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such claims and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.