Premier of Italy Giorgia Meloni called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer of a cease-fire for Ukraine on Saturday “propaganda,” concluding a Group of Seven summit in which an agreement was made for a $50 billion loan to Ukraine.
The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and possibly Japan will supply the loan, according to Meloni. Europe is primarily responsible for the frozen Russian assets that are to be used as collateral, she continued, “so Europe is already contributing by identifying the guarantee mechanism.”
At the start of the two-day annual summit of leaders from the G7 nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—held in the Puglia region of southern Italy, on Thursday, a loan agreement was struck.
Meloni responded, “It seems to me more like a propaganda move than a real one,” when asked about Putin’s proposed cease-fire.
The president of Russia declared on Friday that if Kyiv starts removing soldiers from the four areas that Moscow annexed in 2022 and gives up on its aspirations to join NATO, he would “immediately” order a cease-fire in the country and begin negotiations.
“If President Putin’s proposal is: We are willing to have a peace negotiation if Ukraine recognizes the invasion of Ukraine and gives up the occupied parts … doesn’t seem particularly effective to me as a proposal,” Meloni stated.
Among the many international leaders who attended the G7 as guests was the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who rejected what he saw as Putin’s ultimatum to cede additional territory.
A peace conference for Ukraine was being held in Switzerland on Saturday, but it was unlikely that much progress would be made as long as Russia remained absent.
Meloni was questioned about the Israel-Hamas conflict and the G7’s lack of condemnation of Israel for the civilian casualties stemming from its offensives in Gaza during the news conference.
Meloni made reference to the October 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel, which resulted in over 1,200 casualties and ignited the conflict, saying, “I think we need to remember who started all this and it wasn’t Israel, but someone who killed civilians, women, and children.”
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Palestinian health officials report that over 37,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s bombardment and ground operations in Gaza; they do not provide a breakdown of the number of fighters and civilians who have died.
“Now we must work for peace, which means dialogue, recognizing Israel’s right to be safe, to live in peace, and the right of the Palestinians to have their own state in which to live peacefully,” she stated. “It is the only way to address this problem, our job is to dialogue with everyone.”
Still, she claimed that Israel’s reaction to October 7 was putting it in a trap.
“It looks like Israel is jumping into a trap. For the trap of Hamas was to isolate it. It seems it is working,” Meloni stated adding that Israel’s friends “need to give clear words to Israel, for its safety … and this is exactly what Italy is doing.”
“The G7 spoke for the first time about migratory flows and the fight against human traffickers,” the Italian prime added with joy.
““We must guarantee to everyone the right not to emigrate and to leave one’s home”, she stated.
As the summit’s host and well-known for her strict views on migration, Meloni was keen to bring up the topic and has been pushing for more financing and investment for African countries in an effort to lessen the burden of migration on Europe.
One of the main gateways into the European Union for those escaping war and poverty in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa is Italy.
The G7 stated in their final summit communiqué that they would “focus on the root causes of irregular migration, efforts to enhance border management and curb transnational organized crime, and safe and regular pathways for migration” in their coalition to combat migrant smuggling.
