BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday dismissed a ceasefire offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin for Ukraine as “propaganda” as she G7 Summit an agreement was reached for a loan of fifty billion dollars to Ukraine.
The loan will probably be provided by the US, UK, Canada and possibly Japan, Meloni said. The frozen Russian assets that can function collateral are mainly in Europe, “so Europe is already doing its part by setting up the guarantee mechanism,” she added.
The loan agreement was signed on the opening Thursday of the two-day annual meeting of executives from the G7 countries Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and the USA within the southern Italian region of Apulia.
When asked about Putin's ceasefire proposal, Meloni said it “seems to me more like a propaganda move than a real move.”
The Russian president said on Friday he would “immediately” order a ceasefire in Ukraine and begin negotiations if Kyiv begins withdrawing troops from the 4 regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 and abandons plans to affix NATO.
“If President Putin's proposal is: we are ready for peace negotiations if Ukraine recognizes the invasion of Ukraine and gives up the occupied territories … then this proposal does not seem to me to be particularly effective,” Meloni said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the G7 summit as a guest alongside several other heads of state and government, rejected an ultimatum from Putin to provide up more territory.
Switzerland hosted a peace conference for Ukraine on Saturday, but given Russia's absence it was questionable whether major breakthroughs might be achieved.
During the press conference, Meloni was asked concerning the war between Israel and Hamas and why the G7 didn’t condemn Israel for the civilian casualties brought on by the war. Offensives within the Gaza Strip.
“I think we have to remember who started all this, and it was not Israel, but someone who killed civilians, women and children,” Meloni said, referring to the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and sparked the war. Israel's bombings and ground attacks in Gaza have killed greater than 37,000 Palestinians, in response to Palestinian health officials, who didn’t give an actual variety of civilians and fighters.
“Now we must work for peace, which means dialogue, by recognizing Israel's right to security and to live in peace and the right of the Palestinians to their own state in which they can live peacefully,” she said. “That is the only way to address this problem. Our task is to engage in dialogue with everyone.”
However, she said Israel was falling right into a trap with its response to October 7.
“It looks like Israel is falling into a trap. The trap set by Hamas was to isolate it. It seems to be working,” Meloni said, adding that Israel's friends “must be clear with Israel, for its safety… and that is exactly what Italy is doing.”
The Italian Prime Minister also expressed his satisfaction that “the G7 has spoken for the first time about migration flows and the fight against human traffickers”.
“We must guarantee everyone the right not to emigrate and leave their homeland,” she said.
In their final communiqué from the summit, the G7 announced a coalition to combat migrant smuggling, noting that the seven nations would “focus on the root causes of irregular migration, efforts to improve border management and curb cross-border organized crime, and safe and regular migration routes.”
Becatoros reported from Bari, Italy. Associated Press author Giada Zampano in Rome contributed to this report.
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