US, Italy to provide aid to Ukraine for as long as it takes — joint statement
The document also says that Washington and Rome "recognize the need to address the global consequences of the conflict, especially on vulnerable countries’ stability, energy, and food security"
WASHINGTON, July 28. /TASS/. The United States and Italy are set to provide military aid and other types of assistance to the Kiev government for as long as it takes, US President Joe Biden and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have said in a statement.
"The United States and Italy will continue to provide political, military, financial, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine for as long as it takes, with the aim to reach a just and lasting peace that fully respects the UN Charter and Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," reads the statement, issued after bilateral US-Italian talks in Washington on Thursday.
The document also says that Washington and Rome "recognize the need to address the global consequences of the conflict, especially on vulnerable countries’ stability, energy, and food security." In this regard, the two states reaffirm the importance of "enabling Ukraine to export food via the Black Sea" and condemn Russia’s "unilateral withdrawal" from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The grain deal expired on July 17. In exiting the deal, Moscow, which had agreed to several extensions of the July 2022 Istanbul agreements creating the Black Sea corridor for ships carrying Ukrainian grain, cited the failure of its deal partners to fulfil the Russia-related provisions of the deal, which called for removing obstacles to Russian agricultural exports. Moscow also noted that, although the Istanbul agreements were intended to ensure food security for the neediest countries, the bulk of Ukraine’s grain actually went to wealthy Western countries. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow could consider resuming the grain deal if all of the Russia-related provisions are in fact implemented.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow was ready to provide six African countries with about 25,000-50,000 tonnes of wheat each. The assistance will be free of charge, including transportation costs. The six countries are Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea.