Italian Premier Meloni describes Putin's cease-fire offer for Ukraine as 'propaganda'
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has dismissed a cease-fire offer for Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin as “propaganda” as she wraps up a Group of Seven summit that saw a deal reached for a $50 billion loan to Ukraine
BORGO EGNAZIA, Italy — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Saturday dismissed a cease-fire offer for Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin as “propaganda,” as she wrapped up a Group of Seven summit that saw a deal reached for a $50 billion loan to Ukraine.
The loan will be provided by the U.S., U.K., Canada and possibly Japan, Meloni said. The frozen Russian assets to be used as collateral are mainly in Europe, “so Europe is already contributing by identifying the guarantee mechanism,” she added.
The loan agreement was reached at the opening Thursday of the two-day annual meeting of leaders from the G7 countries of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States in southern Italy’s Puglia region.
Asked about Putin’s cease-fire proposal, Meloni said it “seems to me more like a propaganda move than a real one.”
The Russian president said Friday he would “immediately” order a cease-fire in Ukraine and start negotiations if Kyiv begins withdrawing troops from the four regions Moscow annexed in 2022 and renounces plans to join NATO.
“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 said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was one of several world leaders who attended the G7 as a guest, has rejected what he called an ultimatum by Putin to surrender more territory.
Switzerland was hosting a
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