Italian Foreign Minister Antoni Tajani said on February 17 that Europe is not interested in a war with Russia, but wants to be the bearer of peace.
“We are defending freedom and international law, therefore we are defending Ukraine <...> we do not want war with Russia,” he said at an event in Rome dedicated to the memory of former European Parliament Speaker David Sassoli.
Tayani stressed that the country is helping Ukraine in order to eventually achieve a negotiation process.
Earlier in the day, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the European Union must find strength and courage in order to build a dialogue with Russia, but the right moment for this has not yet come.
However, on the eve of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on NATO to prepare for a long-term confrontation with Russia. At the same time, he admitted that he cannot predict how long this confrontation will last, because everything can change suddenly.
At the same time, on February 14, British military analyst Sean Bell said that NATO was depleting its arsenal by supporting Ukraine and did not have the resources to confront Russia.
Western countries, against the backdrop of a special military operation (SVO) of Russia to protect Donbass, have increased military and financial assistance to Kyiv. The NMD was announced on February 24, 2022 against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by Ukrainian troops.
