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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meroni said on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ceasefire proposal to Ukraine at the end of the Group of Seven summit, which resulted in a deal to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan, was “propaganda.”
The loan will be provided by the United States, Britain, Canada and possibly Japan, Meroni said, adding that the frozen Russian assets to be used as collateral are mainly located in Europe, “so Europe has already contributed by defining the collateral mechanism.”
The loan deal was reached at the opening of a two-day annual meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven countries – Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and Britain – in the Puglia region of southern Italy.
Asked about Putin’s ceasefire proposal, Meloni said: “It seems to me more like a propaganda gesture than a real gesture.”
Russia’s president said on Friday he would “immediately” order a ceasefire in Ukraine and start negotiations if Kiev began withdrawing its troops from four regions annexed by Moscow by 2022 and abandoned plans to join NATO.
“If President Putin’s proposal is: We are ready to negotiate peace if Ukraine recognizes the invasion of Ukraine and gives up the occupied party … that doesn’t seem particularly effective to me,” Meloni said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, one of several world leaders attending the Group of Seven summit as guests, rejected an ultimatum from Putin to give up more territory.
A Ukrainian peace conference opened in Switzerland on Saturday, but doubts remained as to whether any significant progress could be made despite Russia’s absence.
During the press conference, Meloni was asked about the war between Israel and Hamas and why the G7 had not condemned the Israeli offensive in Gaza that had killed civilians.
“I think we have to remember who started all this, it was not Israel, it was a group that killed civilians, women and children,” Meloni said, referring to an Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. Israeli bombing and ground assaults in Gaza have claimed more than 37,000 Palestinian lives, according to Palestinian medical authorities, but there is no detailed count of civilians and combatants.
“Now we have to work for peace, which means dialogue, recognizing the right of Israel to live in security and peace, and the right of the Palestinians to have their own state where they live in peace,” he said. “That is the only way to resolve this; our job is to have a dialogue with everyone.”
However, he added that Israel’s response on October 7 was falling into a trap.
“It seems that Israel is walking into a trap. Because the trap of Hamas is to isolate him. And it seems to be working,” Meroni said, adding that Israel’s friends “have to make it clear to him for his safety … and that’s what Italy is doing.”
The Italian Prime Minister also expressed satisfaction that “the G7 discussed for the first time the issue of migration flows and the fight against human trafficking.”
“We must guarantee everyone’s right not to migrate and leave their homeland,” he said.
Merloni, known for her tough stance on migration, put the issue on the table as summit host and is eager to increase investment and financing to African countries to ease migration pressures on Europe. Italy is one of the main entry points into the EU for people fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
In the final communique of the summit, the G7 announced the creation of an alliance to combat migrant smuggling, noting that the seven countries “will focus on the root causes of irregular migration, work to improve border management and curb transnational organized crime, and create a safe and secure environment for regular migration routes.”
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