ROME, June 11. /TASS/. It’s time for Europe to find ways to interact with Moscow, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, addressing the lower house of parliament.
"I continue to raise the need for Europe to launch joint, pragmatic talks on ways to interact with Moscow. Efforts to protect legal boundaries do not prevent us from keeping open the channels that are necessary to achieve our goals as the European Union must be ready to lead the dialogue, while following someone else’s lead would be a mistake," Meloni pointed out.
She believes that Europe should take on an important role in "a peaceful settlement scenario for Russia and Ukraine," defining the terms it can influence. "We should help create conditions for peace, working together with our allies to ensure reliable security guarantees for Ukraine and a new European security architecture, capable of ensuring long-term stability," the Italian premier noted.
In this regard, Meloni emphasized the importance of preserving Euro-Atlantic unity and strengthening coordination between Europe and the United States. "It’s not always an easy task, but this needs to be done. Still, coordination does not mean the delegation of powers. As for the Ukraine-Russia peaceful settlement process, a number of conditions depend on Europe, concern Europe and have an impact on it. And it is up to Europe to engage in talks," Meloni said.
She also called for appointing a single EU representative on Ukraine but did not give any names. Italian government sources told TASS that Rome does not have a specific candidate.