The leader of the opposition socio-political “Movement 5 Stars” (D5Z), former Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, sharply criticized Rome’s decision to provide Ukraine with the next, sixth package of military assistance.
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Speaking in the House of Deputies of the national parliament on Wednesday, he said that “this government has not so much taken the side of NATO as it has found itself on the shoulder blades in front of NATO directives.”
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“We are concerned. You have become the sheriff of Nottingham in relation to the Italians, who need a completely different protection,” the prominent politician emphasized, referring to Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, who explained to parliamentarians some aspects of Italian military assistance to Kiev.
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“Minister Crosetto, you want us to believe that the arms deliveries provided for by this decree do not affect the level of security of our defense system and do not require a general restoration of our stocks associated with military arsenals. You spoke of physiology: there are no nothing physiological,” Conte said.
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According to him, from the supply of bulletproof vests, pistols and machine guns, Rome moved to armored vehicles and modern Samp / T anti-aircraft missile systems.
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“Tell us what are the limits of this military escalation, if any, in terms of these supplies,” Conte said. “You must say this clearly to the Italians. You must say this because you are leading Italy to war,” he concluded.
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For a long time, Conte, on behalf of D5Z, has been opposed to new arms supplies to Kyiv, since, in his opinion, this leads to an escalation of the conflict, and for a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis.
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In January, the Italian parliament approved a government decree that provides for the continuation in 2023 of various assistance to Ukraine, including the supply of weapons. In February, the government approved the next, sixth package of military aid to Kyiv. Italian Foreign Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani said in this regard that Italy, together with France, is working to supply Ukraine with the Samp / T air defense system as soon as possible.
