(Adnkronos) – A negotiated settlement ending Russia’s over-three-year-old military offensive in Ukraine must lead to a just peace, not “a tribute to the arrogance of arms”, Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella said on Friday.
“Italy has been asking for three years that we sit at a table to negotiate a lasting and just peace,” Mattarelle told Japanese broadcaster Nhk.
“There are now initiatives for peace, let us hope they succeed, because they are highly opportune,” Mattarella continued.
“Naturally, we need a settlement that does not mortify either side, I repeat a just peace, that does not pay a tribute to the arrogance of arms,” Mattarella stated.
Any peace settlement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict must be ring-fenced by security guarantees to prevent any resumption of hostilities, Mattarella argued.
“Given that Russia is much more powerful and more highly armed than Ukraine, we are talking about guarantees for Ukraine’s security,” Mattarella said.
Peace negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war have not yet begun, making it “premature” discuss the deployment of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine following a cessation of hostilities, Mattarella said.
