Rome, (EFE).- kyiv will have an anti-missile shield within a maximum period of eight weeks, revealed this Thursday the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, at the same time that he was convinced that this year peace negotiations will be opened in Ukraine and Russia.
The anti-missile shield to protect kyiv and other strategic areas of Ukraine “I think it will be operational in Ukrainian territory within a period of seven or eight weeks,” said the also vice president of the Government chaired by the far-right Giorgia Meloni on RAI public television.
Tajani assured that Italy has always sent “defensive weapons, never offensive” and that it will continue to do so: “We have not sent tanks and we will not send them,” he said, although he was in favor of “continuing to help kyiv with all possible instruments, even sending electrical equipment».
The head of Italian diplomacy, “number two” of the conservative Forza Italia led by Silvio Berlusconi, also said that he was confident that “a peace table will be reached by 2023″ between kyiv and Moscow, although he acknowledged that ” It’s hard to make predictions.”
“No doubt (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will look for a way out. So we’ll see, it’s all very complicated,” he added.
The Italian Parliament approved on January 24 the extension for the shipment in 2023 of military material to Ukraine, the sixth shipment to kyiv from Italy, which since the beginning of the war, on February 24, has harshly criticized Putin, and has shown strong support for the Ukrainian, Volodimir Zelensky.
In fact, Meloni, leader of the far-right Brotherhood of Italy (FdI) formation, has announced his intention to travel to Ukraine this month and has invited Zelensky to visit Italy, while always insisting on Rome’s support for kyiv in the “political, military, economic and humanitarian” field.