Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said it was necessary to continue "supplying electrical materials to restore the power grid" in UkraineROME, February 2.
/tass/. Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that his country would not send tanks to Kiev.
"We have always sent defensive weapons to Ukraine, not offensive ones, we have not sent tanks and we will not send them," he said on Rai Italia on Thursday. Tajani added that it is necessary to continue "to supply electrical materials to restore the power grid" in Ukraine.
The Foreign Minister also expressed hope that peace talks will begin "within this year." "The risk of escalation and deterioration of the situation should not be underestimated, but we must do everything so that the door for dialogue is not closed, and we must support all those" who can play a role in the settlement, Tajani added.
In March 2022, the Italian Parliament approved a resolution on providing assistance to Ukraine, including military assistance. Five interdepartmental decrees were issued with a list of weapons supplied, which is classified. The new center-right government that came to power in October earlier approved a decree extending the terms of military assistance for the whole of 2023. It was finally approved in the National Parliament. Currently, the sixth decree is being prepared, which, as reported by the Italian media, may contain Aspide guided missiles, as well as one SAMP-T anti-aircraft missile system, which is being sent in coordination with France.
Earlier, Tajani said that Italy had sent Kiev weapons worth up to €1 billion.