ROME, May 13. /TASS/. Italy’s Economic Development Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti on Friday said he believes the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO won’t help to end the conflict in Ukraine soon.

"The entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO will definitely not help to reduce the [duration of the Ukrainian] conflict," the ANSA news agency quoted him as saying at a conference. The minister said the step would only cause an increase in the negative "sentiment on the part of Moscow."

"But these are the questions that, perhaps, are too large for my ability to appreciate them," he said

Giorgetti is a member of the League party that’s part of the ruling coalition. The party’s leader Matteo Salvini is urging to stop the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

Discussions about Finland's accession to NATO intensified at the start of April. The key members of the alliance supported this idea. The majority of members of the Finnish parliament were in favor of accession. Sweden is also considering this possibility, and the ruling Social Democratic Labor Party will decide on joining NATO on May 15th. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said earlier that Rome strongly supports the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO.