G-7 will support Ukraine as long as necessary: Italy’s premier

By

ROME (AA) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called the recent Group of Seven meeting “a real success” and reiterated that the G-7 countries will support Ukraine as long as necessary.

“Our countries have reaffirmed a full and great cohesion, a common view in particular with regard to the Ukrainian war and its consequences,” Draghi said at a press conference closing the G-7 meeting in Schloss Elmau, Germany.

He also said sanctions against Russia “are necessary to push it to the negotiation table,” adding that there will not be any peace if Ukraine is unable to defend itself.

The Italian premier said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has updated the G-7 leaders on the situation in the country and signaled a deficit of €5 billion a month.

Responding to a question on the possible presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the upcoming Group of 20 meeting, Draghi said that “an intervention remotely could be possible,” but Indonesian President Joko Widodo ruled out Putin’s presence at the meeting.

The Italian premier also said that one of the effects of the war has been a reinforcement and a possible enlargement of the NATO alliance to Sweden and Finland.

“Things didn’t go exactly as Putin expected,” he said, adding however that it remains very difficult to predict the duration of the war.