During an historic visit to Moldava on Tuesday, president Sergio Mattarella underscored Italy and other western countries' unrelenting support for Ukraine's fight for independence amid the war with Russia that is now in its third year.
"Together with President Sandu, we reaffirmed our strong support for Ukraine's independence and integrity," Mattarella told a joint press conference in Chisinau after talks with Moldova's president Maia Sandu.
"A few kilometers from here, as we are all aware, a brutal war of aggression is raging that was unleashed against Ukraine by the Russian Federation," Mattarella stated.
"The G7 summit, held in recent days under the Italian chairmanship, confirmed that the willingness to assist Ukraine will not relent or weaken and will continue as long as necessary," Mattarella underlined.
Mattarella referred to last week's G7 summit in Borgo Ignazia, Puglia, when G7 leaders agreed a 50 billion dollar loan for Ukraine using around 335 billion dollars of Russian assets frozen by the group when Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"In recent days, a peace summit was held in Switzerland, with the great participation of numerous countries, Mattarella said referencing a two-day peace conference that took place last weekend.
"Together with the other countries that feel close to Ukraine in its struggle for independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty, we intend to work for a just peace, which respects the principles of the UN Charter and does not result from the use of military force and bullying," said Mattarella.
Mattarella's visit to Moldova on Tuesday is the first by an Italian president.
Moldova became and official European Union candidate in June 2022 after it applied for membership of the bloc in March that year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine (also an EU candidate country).
