"A year ago, in this same circumstance, we wished each other a better future after the suffering caused by the pandemic on every continent.
We never thought we would have to witness, a few months later, the enormous disaster caused by the war of aggression unleashed by Russia against the Ukraine.
An aggression that plunged Europe back into a nightmare that we were certain was destined to remain in the darkest pages of our history.
We never thought that nightmare could come back again". The President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella said during his greetings to the diplomatic corps. "We never thought that a country like Russia, so close to us in culture and history, could reach point of attacking the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine with the cruel aim of depriving the population of light, water and heating throughout the long and harsh winter of those places".
"In an increasingly interconnected world, the suffering inflicted by the war does not affect only Ukraine. In every corner of the world, citizens of different countries suffer from the repercussions of the brutal Russian attack. Food insecurity, energy supply difficulties and the rising prices strike indiscriminately on all continents and everywhere the weakest groups are the first to pay the price for wicked choices, thus violating the rights of the Ukrainian people, the fundamental rights of millions of people which are the foundations of our democracies ".
The Head of State Sergio Mattarella says so.
"The re-establishment of a just peace is my hope for the future because only through peace will humanity be able to look to its progress
. We must all work towards this goal, the diplomacies of all countries are called to a common commitment".
This was stated by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella during the ceremony for the exchange of greetings with the diplomatic corps.
“How can we take
care of our democracies? How can we work for a just peace?
respond to the need to protect peace and democracy" underlines Mattarella.
"Today the international community, all of us, must take care of democracy", she adds.
Taking care of democracies, "vigorously defending their values and ideals".
This was stated by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella during his greetings to the diplomatic corps.
"Shirin Ebadi, the first Muslim woman Nobel Peace Prize winner said 'to take care of a beautiful plant we must water it every day, be careful of how much light it receives. We cannot limit ourselves to pouring a large amount of water on it and then ignoring it for a year. In these conditions, the plant dies.
And the same goes for democracy: if it isn't supervised by the people, it dies'. These are words to be shared",
he said.
"In reforming itself, the Union must not run the risk of looking only within its borders, but must continue to keep alive the vocation for dialogue and solidarity, for cooperation with other countries: the European Union can must position itself as a reliable partner and globally responsible security provider."
This was stated by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella during the exchange of greetings with the diplomatic corps.
"Prosperity, stability and security - he adds - are not only values to be protected, but strategic interests to defend".
"We must act to create the conditions for our young people to once again look to the future with confidence, in which they will be the protagonists. Unfortunately, however, in recent days we are witnessing repeated, brutal attempts to stifle the voices of young people who demonstrate peacefully to ask for freedom and greater spaces for participation.
These behaviors must be strongly condemned. A state that rejects and kills its own children condemns itself".
This was stated by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella during his greetings to the diplomatic corps.
