 "Meloni urges Europe to reopen dialogue with Russia, rules out early G8 return")
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday said Europe should resume engagement with Russia, while stressing that it remains premature to consider Moscow’s return to the Group of Eight major economies.
Speaking at her annual New Year’s press conference, Meloni said she shared the view recently expressed by French President Emmanuel Macron who has argued that Europe must hold talks with Russia as part of efforts to bring the war in Ukraine to an end.
“I believe Macron is right,” Meloni said. “The moment has arrived for Europe to also engage with Russia.”
She warned that Europe’s role in the negotiations would be constrained if it chose to interact with only one side of the conflict. “If Europe decides to participate in this phase of talks by speaking solely to one of the two parties, I fear its contribution will ultimately be limited,” she added.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war, now nearing its fourth year, have gained momentum since November. Despite this, Russia has not indicated any readiness to compromise following Kyiv’s push for amendments to a US-backed proposal that largely reflected Moscow’s core demands.
Russia has also offered no public indication that it would agree to a peace settlement that includes the security guarantees sought by Ukraine’s allies, such as the deployment of Western troops on Ukrainian territory.
Meloni said the European Union should appoint an envoy to deal directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and avoid confusion.
”If we were to make the mistake of deciding, on the one hand, to reopen dialogue with Russia, and on the other, to proceed in a disorganised way, we would be doing Putin a favour,” she said. ”We have had this problem from the start. Too many voices speaking, too many formats,” she added.
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View AllAmong proposals put forward by the United States in November was for Russia to be readmitted to the Group of Seven wealthy nations club, reviving the now-defunct G8.
Meloni said it was ”absolutely premature” to talk about welcoming Russia back into the G7 fold. She also reiterated that Italy had no intention of sending troops to Ukraine to help guarantee any peace deal.
France and Britain last month signed a declaration of intent on the future deployment of multinational forces into Ukraine once a ceasefire is reached.
With inputs from agencies
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