A meeting of national security advisors is scheduled for Saturday in Kiev, in the presence of the Ukrainian chief negotiator Rustem Umerov, then on the 6th in Paris there will be a meeting, expected in the presence of thirty delegations from European countries and NATO, with the “Willing” ready to accelerate on security guarantees and on the option of sending troops, if the conditions for a ceasefire arrive in the next few days and there are steps forward on the issue of Ukraine’s territorial concessions.
It is in this context that yesterday American President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also spoke about the conflict in Ukraine, during a conversation for end-of-year greetings which – explained sources from Palazzo Chigi – was also an opportunity for “an exchange of views on the main international issues and to address some dossiers of bilateral interest”.
The situation in the Middle East is on the table, with Italy ready to relaunch its commitment to training the Palestinian police in Jordan in the coming weeks. And the topic of duties was discussed, with the Prime Minister having worked under the radar in recent months and just this morning the Farnesina announced that the United States had revised the rates on pasta downwards, a confirmation – underline sources close to the dossier – of the climate of collaboration and trust between Rome and Washington and above all of the harmony between the Prime Minister and the occupant of the White House. «The good news coming from the United States demonstrates how serious work, without unnecessary alarmism, bears fruit. We immediately said that Italian institutions would not abandon Italian pasta producers. Today we know that we have chosen the right path and the tariffs have been significantly reduced”, commented the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida.
The issue of territorial concessions
But at the center of the phone call between Trump and Meloni, according to what we learn, was above all the Ukrainian crisis. The United States aims to accelerate out of the war impasse, the American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in constant contact with the Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov. However, the issue remains that of territorial concessions. The option of the total cession of Donbass is rejected by Kiev, the freezing of the front line is not accepted by Moscow and even the exit strategy of the demilitarized zone is not shared. The prime minister – who has been in direct contact with the American president for a year (on January 4th she flew to the ‘tycoon’s’ Mar-a-Lago villa and on January 20th took part in the inauguration of the tenant of the White House) – would have underlined once again that any solution regarding the territories should be acceptable to Ukraine, otherwise – in her belief – any type of ‘imposition’ which would then be rejected by the Ukrainians would risk being a boomerang.
Collaborating in a climate of cohesion and Article 5 of NATO for Kiev
Also in the next few days, as she has done in recent months, the Prime Minister will insist on the need for the two sides of the Atlantic to collaborate in a climate of cohesion and will relaunch the application of Article 5 of NATO for Kiev, without in any way opening up to the involvement of Italian military troops in the field. The new decree extending military and civil aid to Kiev, approved in the last Council of Ministers, must now be examined by Parliament and is considered in the government to be the result of a balance found in the majority. On the internal front, after the differences with the League, an important step will, in fact, be the resolutions to the communications of the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto on 15 January. As regards the international situation, while the ‘Volenterosì’ will once again insist on security guarantees for Ukraine, progress is expected on the issues on the table. With the United States trying to speed up negotiations.