Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Pope Francis on Saturday on a flying visit to Rome.
(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Pope Francis on Saturday on a flying visit to Rome.
Zelenskiy praised Italy for its support in Ukraine’s efforts to join the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which meets in Vilnius, Lithuania in July. Ukraine expects that meeting to provide a clear timetable for membership and security guarantees until it becomes a member, he said.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Italy’s Prime Minister, Zelenskiy also thanked Italy for all its assistance to Ukraine, as well as Ukrainians who were forced to live the country. He invited Italian politicians to visit Ukraine and see how Ukrainians “oppose and fight for life.”
Meloni, who visited Zelenskiy in Kyiv in February, said that Italy “bets on Ukraine’s victory” and will keep giving military support to the country, adding that peace will come “only if and when Russia will cease hostilities.”
Meloni has been a strong backer of Ukraine since she took office at the end of last year. Her coalition partners Silvio Berlusconi, who is undergoing treatment for chronic leukemia, and Matteo Salvini have in the past praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and cultivated ties with Russia.
Later on Saturday, Zelenskiy had also a meeting at the Vatican with Pope Francis, who has repeatedly called for an end to the war in Ukraine and expressed solidarity with the Ukrainians. The pope emphasized the need to continue to support the most vulnerable in Ukraine in talks with Zelenskiy, according to a Vatican official.
Last month, the Pontiff said that a secret peace “mission” in Russia’s war in Ukraine was under way, without giving any details of the operation. The Holy See is willing to facilitate the return to Ukraine of children taken to Russia during the war, the Vatican News website reported at that time.
The Ukrainian leader also met with Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella.
Zelenskiy’s next stop is Berlin, where he will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday, according to German media. He will also receive the 2023 International Charlemagne Prize in Aachen during the visit to Germany, according to the reports.
(Updates with Zelenskiy comments from second paragraph.)
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