Italian premier opposes direct military intervention in Ukraine

LONDON

The Italian prime minister on Tuesday rejected French President Emmanuel Macron's comments regarding the deployment of troops to Ukraine, saying it would lead to a "dangerous escalation."

Addressing the parliament, Giorgia Meloni said "no" to Macron's controversial proposal that sending troops to Ukraine should not be "ruled out," Italian news agency ANSA reported.

"I reiterate also in this chamber that our position is not in favor of this hypothesis, a harbinger of a dangerous escalation to be avoided at all costs," the premier said ahead of the two-day EU Council session on Ukraine on Thursday.

Following a summit in Paris on Feb. 26 in support of Ukraine, Macron said: "There is no consensus today that ground troops should be deployed in an official, accepted, and endorsed way. But nothing should be ruled out."

"We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war," he added.

Russia launched its war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, just over two years ago.