Kyiv said it was asking Italy for more information about a proposal by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to extend NATO’s mutual defence umbrella to Ukraine without offering it alliance membership or sending peacekeeping troops.
Ukraine is seeking security guarantees from its Western allies ahead of any peace talks to end Russia’s invasion. It wants NATO membership but the United States under President Donald Trump has rejected this.
Britain, France and other countries are also drawing up plans to deploy European troops to safeguard a potential ceasefire under a future peace deal. Russia opposes such plans but Trump has said he believes Moscow might agree.
Giorgia Meloni called for guarantees regarding a proposed European defence plan and reiterated the government’s opposition to the deployment of European troops in Ukraine at an extraordinary summit held in Brussels on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday evening on the sidelines of the summit on security and Ukraine, the premier said she opposed using European cohesion funds as part of a proposed ‘ReArm plan’ launched by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday and called for the extension to Ukraine of NATO’s article 5 which states that, if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, every member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and take the necessary actions.
Meloni also called for a summit between the European Union and the US.
“I am very perplexed regarding European troops, I don’t consider it effective”, she said about the possibility of deploying them as part of peacekeeping efforts.
Meloni said she “ruled out” the possibility of sending Italian soldiers and said it was “better to think about more long-lasting solutions” such as extending NATO’s article 5 to Ukraine which “would be a long-lasting” step.
The premier also hailed the fact that Italy’s proposal against the possibility of cohesion funds being forcibly used for defence spending had been accepted.
The Commission had proposed that money countries receive from the EU’s cohesion fundsaimed at equalising living standards across Europe could also be used for defence purposes.
The European Commission on Tuesday suggested to borrow up to 150 billion euros to lend to EU governments to finance a rearmament plan prompted by Russia’s war in Ukraine and fears that Europe might no longer be able to lean on US protection.
The announcement came a day after US President Donald Trump paused military aid to Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday that she could mobilise up to 800 billion euros for European defence.