President Volodymyr Zelensky has good reasons for his visit, because of the large EU countries, the citizens of Italy have the most negative attitude towards supporting Ukraine.
According to previous newspaper reports, the president of Ukraine to Volodymyr Zelensky was supposed to visit Germany this weekend. On Saturday morning, however, the Ukrainian president’s plane landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport instead of Germany. This is Zelensky’s first visit to Italy since the start of the war of aggression.
Upon arrival, Zelenskyi confirmed on Twitter that he would meet with the Italian president Sergio Mattarella and the Prime Minister by Giorgia Meloni besides, also the Pope of Francis. At the same time, he stated that the visit is important for Ukraine to win the ongoing war of aggression.
The Italian foreign minister received the president at the airport Antonio Tajani, who said at the very beginning of the visit that Italy would continue to support Ukraine in all possible ways. The country’s president Mattarella also said in his welcome speech to the press that Ukraine has Italy’s full support.
Zelenskyi focused on thanking the Italian leadership and the country’s citizens for their support. In addition to financial and armed aid, Italy has received more than 175,000 Ukrainian refugees.
After leaving the president’s official residence, Zelensky is said to have had a working lunch with Prime Minister Melon. After lunch, the duo also held a joint press conference.
At the press conference, Meloni said that Italy is counting on Ukraine’s victory. At the same time, he condemned Russia’s brutal and unjust actions in Ukraine.
– We will continue to support Ukraine as long as it is necessary. We will not call “peace” anything that resembles a war of aggression, Meloni stated.
Zelenskyi, on the other hand, thanked Meloni for the fact that Italy has reduced its energy dependence on Russia and stuck to the agreed economic sanctions. In addition, he said that he had discussed with Melon about Ukraine’s path to becoming a member of the EU.
– It is very important for us that we become members of the EU. I thank you for all your support on our way to EU membership.
At the end of the press conference, Zelenskyi headed towards the Vatican. The Pope said two weeks ago that the Vatican is involved in a peace operation aimed at ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Supporting Ukraine has aroused mixed feelings
Zelensky, who has been visiting abroad more and more recently, has good reasons for visiting Italy. Italy has supported Ukraine during the war of aggression significantly, although the country has traditionally had warm relations with Russia as well. From the right-wing government that took office in October, the Prime Minister’s party Italian Brothers has promised to continue providing armed and financial support to Ukraine.
In addition to the Prime Minister’s party, those belonging to the government’s right-wing coalition Matteo Salvini League party and Silvio Berlusconi The Ukraine line of the Forza Italia party is not as clear, although Tajani, who represents Berlusconi’s party, spoke positively at the airport about supporting Ukraine.
Salvini and Berlusconi have traditionally had close relations with Russia and the Russian president to Vladimir Putin. For example, in February, Berlusconi stated that Zelenskyi was to blame for Russia’s war of aggression.
Opinion polls published during the war have shown that sending military aid to Ukraine is not popular with Italian citizens either. Published last October according to the survey (you switch to another service) only 39 percent of Italians support sending armed aid. The number was the lowest among the large EU countries that participated in the study. A study published in February, on the other hand indicated (you will switch to another service)that only half of Italians consider Russia to be responsible for the start of the war.
The country’s economic difficulties also affect the unpopularity of aid directed at Ukraine. In Italy, several companies are in trouble due to rising energy costs and interest rates. For this reason, many have a negative attitude towards foreign aid.