Dear Viola, dear Volodymyr, colleagues,

844 days have passed since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. 844 days of heroic Ukrainian resistance and of an unwavering unity which never failed to support the Ukrainian people. 

Defending Ukraine means defending that system of rules that holds the international community together and protects every Nation. If Ukraine had not been able to count on our support and therefore would have been forced to surrender, today we would not be here to discuss the minimum conditions for a negotiation. We would be just discussing the invasion of a sovereign state and we can all imagine with what consequences.

Dear colleagues,
Peace does not mean surrender – as President Putin seems to suggest with his latest declarations. It does not. Confusing peace with subjugation would set a dangerous precedent for everyone. Today’s Conference represents a bold initiative, which dismantles certain narratives, or propaganda. No one can question the absolute importance of the three crucial topics of global interest which have been discussed today - nuclear safety, food security and the human dimension, in particular the return of displaced children. They matter to us all, and I think – also from today’s discussion – that there is much we can build from here.

Italy has always done its part, and it does not intend to walk away. However, we need to join all our possible efforts, in order to help Ukraine look towards the future. That’s exactly what we did at the G7 Summit under the Italian Presidency, where we just reached an agreement to make approximately USD 50 billion of additional financial support available to Kyiv by the end of the year, leveraging the extraordinary revenues of the immobilized Russian sovereign assets. This is an extremely significant achievement, the result of great teamwork done by the G7 leaders.  

Dear Volodymyr, I am here to tell you that you can continue to count on us, for as long as it takes. We will continue every possible effort to keep all the international partners engaged, as they are also suffering from the global consequences of this conflict. We intend to do everything in our possibilities to transform a future of peace and freedom for Ukraine into a reality. 

Thank you.