On Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called for a ceasefire in Ukraine and for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow as European calls for a negotiated settlement to the war continue to grow.
Having earlier discouraged negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Draghi has changed his tune in recent weeks. “We have to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible to stop the humanitarian crisis from getting worse and get negotiations going again,” Draghi told Italy’s parliament.
Draghi met with President Biden in Washington last week and told him it was time to start thinking about a peace deal. “That is the position of Italy, of the EU and one that I shared with Biden,” he said.
The Italian leader said he still favored sanctions on Russia to bring them to the negotiating table and signaled that Italian weapons shipments to Ukraine would continue even though opinion polls show there is little public support in Italy for arming Kyiv.
According to The Times, a recent poll found that 46% of the people asked favored Russia being given Crimea and the territory it has captured since February as a way to stop the war. Only 23% thought Ukraine should fight to regain the territory it has lost.
Draghi is also under pressure from his own ruling coalition to stop arming Ukraine. The leaders of the right League party and the Five Star Movement have come out against sending weapons. So far, Italy has sent Ukraine Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank weapons, and machine guns.
Draghi is not alone in his view on negotiations, as French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also favor peace talks. France, Germany, and Italy represent the three most populous countries in the EU, but many NATO members still favor pumping weapons into Ukraine over negotiations, including the US, Britain, Poland, and the Baltic states.
Well, the hypocrisy is in action! Peace talks have been ruled out by UKRAINE since UK∕US advice to Ze to give in to nothing at Istanbul. Ze wants Crimea back (!) and the main cause of al the conflict since 2014, the Donbas! Germany and France were guarantors of the Minsk plan over all the last 8 years and have done NOTHING to even try to enforce this plan for solving the dispute. Putin’s patience after 8 years finally ran out, but the point of view of Russia to have some security in its own territory is scorned by the NATOstan position of belligerence.
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“Germany, France, and Russia were guarantors of the Minsk plan over all the last 8 years and have done NOTHING to even try to enforce this plan”
Fixed, no charge.
Was charging people ever an option, Thomas?
You could make yourself some cash ! 😉
Should have said, “Fixed, Donations Welcome”…!
But you gotta like the Italians. NATO is breaking apart in the streets of west Europe. They still remember what a time they had getting rid of their own Nazis. And that glimmer on the horizon may indicate that along with breaking the fascist grip on their political neck, will arise the opportunity of throwing off the yoke of Davos.
Germany, France, Italy, and the NY Times are now all calling for negotiations and/or ceasefire.
US SOD and top general calling Russian counterparts, reportedly asking for ceasefires.
Seems like just a week or so ago it was everyone trying to outdo themselves with bravado, with talk of Ukraine “winning” the war, with Putin going crazy, having cancer, being overthrown in a coup, etc., with the Russia army starving, out of fuel, out of ammo, demoralized, deserting, fragging the officers, etc., etc., about the Karkhov “counteroffensive,” and “continued resistance” in Mariupol, and so on, ad infinitum propaganda copium.
All seems to have gone kaput.
Looks like some kind of Russian breakthrough in the Donbass, too.
Perhaps the dam is breaking?
A head of State talking sense.
Get rid of Zelensky and negotiations might progress!