Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has chaired a meeting at the Cabinet Office in Palazzo Chigi on the situation in Ukraine. Participants included Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti, the Under-Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, Marco Minniti, and the Director of the Department for Information and Security, Giampiero Massolo.
The Prime Minister is following developments in Crimea closely and with great concern, in close contact with our European and international partners. He spoke this afternoon (2 March 2014) with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and with the French President, François Hollande.
The Italian Government joins in the international community’s pressing request for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity to be respected. Violations of these principles would be utterly unacceptable for Italy.
To this end, Italy urges Russia to avoid any action that would further intensify the crisis and to pursue dialogue through all possible channels.
At the same time, the Italian Government exhorts the authorities in Kiev to support all efforts to maintain stability and pacification in Ukraine with full respect for legality and the protection of minorities.
