Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose nationalist right-wing government supports Kiev in its conflict with Russia, said on Thursday December 22 that she wanted to go to Ukraine in early 2023. “
I will call (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky to introduce him my wishes and organize this trip that I intend to make in the first months of next year.
It was one of my priority trips
,” she said on the television program “
Porta a Porta
”, broadcast on the public channel Rai 1.
"
We are in the period when almost all cultures in the world celebrate light
" while Ukrainians "
live in darkness
", she underlined.
"
Just imagine what it would mean to turn everything off during the holidays, even for an hour: gas, electricity, telephone, television... We would understand (...) how much their ability to resist is extraordinary
,” she said.
"
It says a lot about what defending freedom and the homeland means to them
," said the Prime Minister.
Read alsoThe small gestures of Giorgia Meloni to satisfy Brussels
At the end of October, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Fratelli d'Italia party, had promised that Italy would remain "
a reliable partner of NATO
" to support Ukraine against Russia.
And in early December, the government endorsed the continuation of arms supplies to Ukraine in 2023. Ms Meloni's predecessor, Mario Draghi, had visited kyiv in June with French leaders Emmanuel Macron and German Olaf Scholz .
