Spanish
It would be "premature" for Italy to participate in the NATO program of acquiring American weapons and then providing them to Ukraine in light of the ongoing peace negotiations, declared the country's Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani.
Before meeting with the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte, the Italian Foreign Minister expressed that, while the steps towards peace are "small", at least there are some. In this context, commenting on the possibility of Rome acquiring US weapons for Ukraine within the framework of the PURL program (Priority Urgent Requirements List for Ukraine), he expressed hope that it will not be necessary.
"For now it's premature to talk about American weapons for Kiev", he affirmed, quoted by La Stampa. "We hope, in the meantime, that no more weapons will be needed in the coming months, because if an agreement is reached and a ceasefire is achieved, the weapons will no longer be necessary; they will be used for other purposes", he stated.
According to agreement with Bloomberg, such statements are the "clearest" signal to date that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Government has changed its strategy regarding Ukraine after running out of funds and facing tensions within the ruling coalition. While Tajani assured that Rome will continue to support Kiev "until peace is restored", Italy is the first European country to explicitly suggest that no more weapons should be provided to Ukraine while a ceasefire is negotiated.
In the same vein, the agency pointed out that the Italian minister's statements contrast with those of the main European defense lobbying group, the Association of European Aerospace Industries, Security and Defense, which stated this Tuesday that they should continue working to guarantee defense despite the possibility of a ceasefire in the Ukrainian conflict.
- In June, after a NATO summit, US President Donald Trump asserted that the Alliance would pay "100%" of the total cost of the weaponry that the United States supplies to the Ukrainian regime. "We send weapons to NATO, and NATO will reimburse the total cost of those weapons," the president pointed out.
- This mechanism is materialized through the PURL program, through which Washington sells weapons to its European allies, who in turn channel them to the Kiev regime. While several members of the military bloc have promised their support for this initiative and have already allocated funds, others continue not to support it, facing increasing pressure to increase their military contribution to the war effort.
- From Moscow, they have repeatedly insisted that the flow of Western weaponry will not alter the strategic balance on the battlefield. Likewise, Russia has been clear in its warnings: any weapon of Western origin supplied to Ukraine will be considered a legitimate target for its military forces.
