Italian Prime Minister George Melony proposed providing Ukraine with NATO protection without actual membership in the Alliance.
Answering the questions of representatives of the Italian media upon completion of the EU leaders in Brussels, Meloni proposed to extend the 5th NATO article to Ukraine, which could become an alternative to joining the Alliance.
In her opinion, such a step would provide Kyiv with reliable security guarantees and would be more effective than the deployment of peacekeepers.
Meloni also believes that such a mechanism could become an effective alternative to the direct entry of Ukraine to NATO.
The Italian Prime Minister emphasized that the current situation requires non -standard decisions that would provide Ukraine without a formal entry into a military bloc. “This is not the same as joining NATO, but this means expanding the same guarantees for Ukraine that the participating countries use,” Meloni said, calling a similar decision “a stable, long-term and effective“ security guarantee.
Speaking about the plan, which the chairman of the European Commission Ursula von der Lyain called “re -equipment”, Meloni said that she did not consider “rearmament” a suitable expression. “It covers the issues of defense, raw materials and many other areas. We do not give citizens a clear message,” added the head of the Italian Cabinet.