Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di
Maio said Wednesday that there was now a real risk of Russia
staging a big military operation in Ukraine.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin said in a press conference
that he recognised the claims of (the rebel-held territories of)
Donetsk and Lugansk to the whole of the Donbass region, which
goes well beyond the Russian-speaking segment and, therefore,
would include areas currently under the control of the Ukraine
armed forces, and also called for the recognition of the illegal
annexation of Crimea" Di Maio told the Senate as he reported to
parliament on the crisis.
"This double development risks opening the road to a large-scale
military operation by Russia in Ukraine".
He said Italy continued to be involved in diplomatic efforts to
avert war, but admitted that the possibility of a solution were
decreasing day by day.
The minister said sanctions imposed on Russian should be
proportionate and sustainable.
He also said more could be coming Russians' way if they take
further action.
Italy will not hold any high-level bilateral meetings with
Russia until there is a de-escalation of the Ukraine crisis, Di
Maio told the Senate.
Rome and Moscow had been working to arrange a meeting between
Italian Premier Mario Draghi and Russian President Vladimir
Putin before the latter recognized two rebel-held 'republics' in
the east of Ukraine this week and sent in troops.
"This morning we organized the next steps with take with Premier
Draghi to aid a diplomatic solution," Di Maio said.
"We are engaged at the top multilateral channels of dialogue.
"However, we believe that there can be no bilateral meetings
with the Russian leadership until there are tension-easing
signals, a stance that has been adopted over the last few hours
by our allies and European partners.
"We condemn the decision by Moscow to sent a contingent of
troops with so-called peace-keeping functions to the territories
of the two separatist republics," he added.
"This is a gesture that risks exacerbating an already tense
situation.
"It is estimated that there are between 170,000 and 190,000
Russian soldiers along the border with Ukraine".
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