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Italian Foreign Minister: We can not offer fighter jets, we would go to war

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, in an interview with Italian public television Rai, referred tonight to the latest developments in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Putin is leading Russia to the abyss. Russian citizens are protesting against the war, but they are also asking him to save his country,” he said.

“The oligarchs need to help Putin understand that he really needs to sit at the negotiating table, because they know he is destroying Russia’s economy,” Di Maio added.

Regarding the request for direct military support, with the provision of military aircraft, put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Italian Foreign Minister stressed:

“If we create a no-fly zone and a single NATO aircraft is shot down, a third world war will break out. President Zelensky has asked us for fighter jets, but we can not offer them, because if we do, we will also go directly to war.”

Luigi Di Maio said he needed a third, foreign mediator “to sit at the table with the Russians and Ukrainians.”

“An immediate priority is a real ceasefire, 24 or 48 hours, with the aim of transporting children, the elderly and the wounded out of the cities that continue to be bombed,” the Italian diplomat told Rai.

Finally, regarding the imports of natural gas from Russia, he wanted to emphasize:

“Algeria and Qatar will increase their energy cooperation with Italy. We have many friends and partners. I believe that this will allow us to not accept any kind of energy blackmail.”

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ

Source: Capital

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