Russian goods and weapons in Ukraine, Tajani-Salvini tug-of-war
The League is frosty about the idea of extending the authorisation to cede arms to Kiev to 2026. The foreign minister confirms that, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made clear, 'by the end of the year we will approve' the decree-law
Key points
On the one hand, the League is pushing for the frozen Russian assets to be 'returned to Moscow'. On the other Antonio Tajani, who hypothesises the use of the MES money 'as a guarantee'. On the one hand, Matteo Salvini's party is frosty about the idea of extending the authorisation to cede arms to Kiev to 2026. On the other, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister confirms that, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made clear, "by the end of the year we will approve" the decree-law, pointing out that foreign policy is the responsibility of Palazzo Chigi and Farnesina. The tug-of-war in the government over the posture with respect to the Ukraine dossier continues.
The decree slipped
The decree to extend by one year the possibility of supplying armaments to the Ukrainian government has slipped for the time being, after having been included and then expunged from the agenda of the preparatory meeting on the eve of Thursday's Council of Ministers, in which - several participants assured - the topic was not touched upon. Not even by Meloni, who yesterday in Bahrain had assured: 'The decree by the end of the year is done in any case because it is needed. It does not mean working against peace. It means that as long as there is a war we will help Ukraine to be able to defend itself against an aggressor'. The measure is expected to pass at one of the last meetings of the 2025 Council of Ministers, for now scheduled for next Thursday, Monday 22 December (this seems the most likely occasion) and Monday 29.
Tajani and Crosetto aligned
"The position is the one indicated by the President of the Council, which I share," Tajani made it clear, essentially assuring that Italy will continue to support Ukraine, because weapons serve to rebalance the conditions in which the attacked is forced to defend itself. 'So far the League,' noted Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, host of 'Five Minutes', 'has supported everything the government has done, both aid to Ukraine and international positions in the field of defence, and I think it will do so this time too'. Meanwhile, he added, 'we need to mobilise the whole world to force Russia to sit at the table'.
Borghi: Russian assets must be given back to Moscow
In parallel, while negotiations continue without a breakthrough, the League has taken a clear position against the use of frozen Russian assets, on which a complicated solution is being sought in Brussels. "If the ECB does not want to guarantee loans to the Zelensky government, those assets should not be touched," Lega Nord senator Claudio Borghi told La Stampa, because "if they were used, a barrier would be broken: it would mean that no assets deposited in Europe are safe. On the contrary, 'they should be returned to Moscow'.
Tajani:: using Mes to guarantee Russian assets may be a solution
Tajani, instead, looks at the European Stability Mechanism, an instrument that has always been opposed by Salvini's party. "We were against the reform of the ESM for several reasons, but the money of the ESM is there," the deputy prime minister and leader of Forza Italia argues, "the ESM is there, it is alive and using that money as a guarantee could be a solution. It is an idea, we will see, but it is not a unilateral decision to unfreeze the assets, this is a decision of the European Union'.
