Premier Mario Draghi told the Senate on Thursday that Italy will do its utmost for a ceasefire in Ukraine, as he reported to parliament on the war after meeting United States President Joe Biden at the White House last week. “We have to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible to stop the humanitarian crisis from getting worse and get negotiations going again,” Draghi said. “That is the position of Italy, of the EU and one that I shared with Biden.”
But the premier also stressed that any settlement has to be acceptable to Kyiv, stating, “Italy will move with its European partners and its allies for all possible forms of mediation,” Draghi said. “But Ukraine will decide what peace to accept, no one else. “Peace without Ukraine would not be acceptable.” Draghi announced that Italy is set to add 1,000 troops to its NATO contingent. “NATO has intensified its activities on its Eastern flank and the Italian contribution amounts to 2,500,” he stated. “In the medium term we are ready to reinforce our presence in Hungary and Bulgaria by 250 and 750 respectively, in line with the actions of our allies. We are evaluating supporting Romania in maritime mine-sweeping in the Black Sea and Slovakia in anti-aircraft defense.”
The premier reiterated that he considered Moscow’s decision on Wednesday to expel 24 Italian diplomats, in retaliation for Rome ejecting 30 last month for national security reasons, was a “hostile act” but stressed that it should not lead to the closure of channels of diplomacy. He also spoke about the policy of sending arms to Kyiv, which is causing increasing unrest within the broad coalition supporting his executive. League leader Matteo Salvini and 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Giuseppe Conte have both said they are against sending more weapons to Ukraine. Conte has also called for a fresh parliamentary vote on military aid for Ukraine. Draghi, however, said that parliament had already passed a resolution committing the administration to giving military and humanitarian support to Ukraine and stressed that “the government intends to move within the precepts of that resolution.”
Draghi also told the Senate on Thursday that his government remains committed to cutting greenhouse emissions even with the energy-security problems caused by the war in Ukraine and would take action to boost renewables. Draghi said there was “utmost determination to eliminate bureaucratic limits on renewables and destroy the barriers on investments” as he reported to parliament on the war in Ukraine after meeting US President Joe Biden at the White House last week. “During my visit to Washington I told President Biden about the Italian energy strategy and we agree on the importance of maintaining the climate commitments, which Italy intends to respect,” the premier added. The premier said that the energy strategy still features gas, even though it is a greenhouse-emitting fossil fuel. “We need it as a fuel of transition” he said.
Italy has been reaching agreements to boost gas flows from several countries to replace Russian gas after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Around 40% of the gas Italy currently imports comes from Russia. He said the government had “moved rapidly” to diversify suppliers by scrambling to set up alternatives with countries like Algeria, Angola, Congo, Libya, Egypt and Mozambique. Draghi said Italy would be able to wean itself off Russian gas by the second half of 2024, later than Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani said recently. “The government’s estimates say that we will be able to become independent of Russian gas in the second half of 2024,” Draghi said. “The first effects of this process will be already seen at the end of this year.”
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