Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that a single representative is needed to negotiate with Russia on Ukraine on behalf of Europe. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
Speaking in the Chamber of Deputies of the national parliament ahead of the European summit scheduled for June 18-19, she said that "using various formats without sufficient authority only leads to fragmentation, misunderstanding, and weakness."
"The main issue is not who supports which format. The problem is that no format has the legal authority to speak on behalf of the whole of Europe. That is why I have long been saying that it is necessary to identify an authoritative person who enjoys the trust and mandate of all member states. He or she must convey Europe's position," the prime minister said.
According to her, Europe should help create the conditions for achieving a peace agreement on Ukraine and work on developing a new European security architecture that ensures security guarantees and long-term stability.
"However, coordination does not mean a complete transfer of powers to another person," Meloni added.
She said that in any significant scenario of a peaceful settlement between Ukraine and Russia, many conditions will depend on Europe, concern Europe, and affect Europe.
"Our firm position regarding Russia should not lead to diplomatic blindness or self-isolation. I continue to raise the issue that Europe should jointly and pragmatically reconsider ways of interaction with Moscow," the prime minister concluded.