According to "Russia Today" on February 5**, former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in an interview published on the same day that the Ukrainian crisis can only be resolved peacefully if Ukraine and foreign supporters respect the interests of its pro-Russian citizens and allow Russia to obtain security guarantees. In his opinion, "ensuring peace" should take precedence over "Ukraine's accession to the EU."
Conte has always advocated a diplomatic end to the current Russia-Ukraine conflict and opposes the provision of ** to Ukraine. He was the leader of the Italian cabinet from 2018 to 2021 before being forced to resign due to the crisis. At present, the left-wing opposition party "Five Star Movement" led by him is the second largest opposition party in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament.
In an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera, Conte said: "Our goal should be to safeguard the sovereignty and integrity of [Ukraine] by protecting the interests of the pro-Russian population (Ukraine) and by providing Russia with the expectation of lasting peace and security," Conte said in an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera. He added that while the Five Star Movement supports Ukraine's eventual accession to the European Union, its accession process should be suspended for the sake of the peace process.
Former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte Photo from ic photo
The report notes that although Italy followed the United States in providing military assistance to Ukraine, Rome showed some doubts about it. Italy's defense minister, Guido Crosetto, told lawmakers last month that a "dual-track" policy was being pursued, both transporting and encouraging diplomacy.
Since the outbreak of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the delegations of the two countries have held a total of five rounds of negotiations, the most recent of which was in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 29, 2022.
Russian media reported that when the negotiations were held in Istanbul, there was indeed information that the two sides could reach a settlement agreement, including Ukraine's renunciation of joining NATO and agreement to remain neutral in exchange for Russia's withdrawal to the pre-"special military operation" border line position. However, a few days later, Ukraine's ** Zelensky suddenly said that he found evidence of "Russia committing war crimes" in the territory where the Russian army had withdrawn, and then the peace talks were canceled.
On May 17 of the same year, both Russia and Ukraine said on the same day that peace talks between the two countries had been "put on hold indefinitely" and blamed each other for causing the talks to stalemate.
At the end of last year, Russian spokeswoman Zakharova said that former British Prime Minister Johnson had asked Zelensky not to agree to any peace agreement with Russia.
Johnson recently denied claims that he had sabotaged the peace talks. However, the British "Times" pointed out that Zakharova's accusations against Johnson are based on the public statements of the chairman of the parliamentary group of the Servant of the People Party of Ukraine, Arakhamia, who was the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Belarus and Turkey.
Zelensky has reportedly banned any negotiations with Russia during Putin's term. At present, bilateral contacts are limited to a few issues, such as prisoner exchanges.
Russia has repeatedly said that Western countries are risking the escalation of the conflict, and none of this can change the final outcome. And in the context of the defeat of Ukraine and the weakening of Western support, Putin publicly stated at the end of last year that Russia's goals have not changed and there will be no ceasefire until they are achieved.
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