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Italy not to supply Ukraine with offensive weapons — top diplomat

Italy’s parliament passed a resolution on assistance, including military, to Ukraine in March 2022

ROME, January 29. /TASS/. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Sunday his country will not supply Kiev with offensive weapons.

"The situation in Ukraine is difficult and we are extremely concerned. We are making efforts toward peace and, as the parliament has decided, we are ready to supply defensive weapons. We will never send offensive weapons because we are not in a state of war with Russia, we have nothing against the Russian people. We are only defending Ukraine’s independence," he said during a talk show on the Rai e television channel.

Italy’s parliament passed a resolution on assistance, including military, to Ukraine in March 2022. Five interdepartmental decrees with a secret list of weapons to be supplied were issued. The new center-right government, which came to power in October, extended the military assistance throughout 2023. A sixth decree is currently being drafted. According to the Italian mass media, the list of weapons may include Aspide guided missiles and a SAMP-T air defense system to be supplied upon agreement with France.

Tajani said earlier that Italy had supplied Kiev with weapons worth one billion euro.