PRESS RELEASE : President of Ukraine congratulated the leader of the Brothers of Italy political force on winning the elections and discussed the further development of Ukrainian-Italian relations [October 2022]

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 4 October 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone call with leader of the Brothers of Italy political force Giorgia Meloni, who won the recent parliamentary elections by a landslide.

The main topics of the negotiations were: the gradual development of Ukrainian-Italian relations, assistance to Ukraine from Italy and the need for a tough reaction of the international community to the new criminal actions of the Russian aggressor against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state.

“Russia’s decisions regarding another attempted annexation of part of the territory of Ukraine are null and void and do not change reality. The repeat of the Crimean scenario cannot be allowed. The territorial integrity of Ukraine must and will be restored,” the President emphasized.

He thanked Giorgia Meloni for her steadfast support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state, separately noting the importance of the consistent position of her political power in support of Ukraine from the very beginning of full-scale Russian aggression.

Response measures to Russia’s recent criminal actions at the multilateral level, including within the UN and other key international platforms, were discussed. In this context, the Ukrainian President also emphasized the need to introduce additional sanctions against Russia, in particular the strengthening of the eighth EU sanctions package and the ban on issuing tourist visas for citizens of the Russian Federation by the EU states.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed the interlocutor about the decision to submit an official application for Ukraine’s membership in NATO and expectations regarding our country’s path to the Alliance under an accelerated procedure.

“Even before NATO membership, Ukraine should receive clear and legally binding guarantees of collective security,” the President stated.

In this context, he highly appreciated the willingness of the Italian side to join this process.

The need to continue comprehensive support for our country after the formation of the new Italian government was also emphasized.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited the head of the future government of Italy to visit Ukraine.