Italy voiced its position on sending troops to Ukraine

Italy does not support the idea of deploying Western troops on the territory of Ukraine because it would "wipe out the path to diplomacy", Italian Defence Minister Guido Crozetto has said in an interview with La Stampa. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crozetto said this in an interview with La Stampa.

He said that he was aware of the statements made by France and Poland, but stressed that politicians in these countries voiced their position, but not that of the collective West.

France and Poland can speak for themselves, but not for NATO, which initially formally and voluntarily stayed out of the war in Ukraine. Putting troops into Kiev means taking a step towards unilateral escalation, which will erase the path to diplomacy. There is no point in making such an argument now after two years of war," the minister said.

He also noted that Russia has learnt to make money from the war by adjusting its economy to the need to kill Ukrainians. Crozetto noted that the West is more vulnerable in this respect, as the European economy is aimed at creation and it is risky to change it to military rails.

The head of the Italian Defence Ministry stressed that it was necessary to continue military assistance to Kiev and noted that Ukraine was right that Western arms deliveries were slow.

As for ammunition, over the year we have reached a production level that can help Ukraine, but it is still below the Russian level," he said.

At the same time, the Italian minister said that the West should not rule out another possible way of resolving the conflict by "activating diplomatic channels with more force and persistence".