Ukraine war: Italy PM Meloni criticises French President Macron's invite to Zelensky
Italian Prime Minister Meloni will meet Ukraine's Zelensky on Friday.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday (February 9) criticised French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Paris ahead of a summit of the European Union (EU) in Brussels, as the Russian offensive in Ukrainerages on. Speaking to reporters, Meloni said, "Frankly, the invitation (by Macron) to Zelensky yesterday seemed more inappropriate to me because I think our strength in this fight is unity."
"I understand the questions of internal politics, the fact of privileging domestic public opinion. But there are moments where privileging domestic public opinion risks being detrimental to the cause, and this seems to me one of those cases," Meloni added.
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Following his visit to London and Paris, Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Brussels on Thursday to push EU leaders for more weapons in the fight against Russia's invasion and also for a quick start to EU membership talks.
The Ukrainian President will meet Italian PM Meloni on Friday. On Thursday, Meloni said that she would tell Zelensky that Italy remains committed in supporting Ukraine.
"Ours is a 360-degree contribution because we are aware of how — and we have said this many times — in addition to the issue of respect for international law, the value of the sovereignty and freedom of a nation, the conflict in Ukraine involves us all directly. Therefore support for Ukraine at 360 degrees is also the best way to arrive at a possible negotiation," Meloni added.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, declined to comment specifically on Meloni's remarks. However, Macron told reporters, "I wanted to receive him, President Zelensky, with Chancellor Scholz" due to Germany and France's "particular role" in the Ukraine situation. Macron further added that it was up to Zelensky himself to choose his schedule, AFP reported.
"What matters is that we are effective together and that we have a strategy that finds a way to a durable peace," the French president added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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