" If Ukraine fell we would see a shift in aggression towards other countries bordering Russia and this - as happened in the last century between '38 and '39 - would lead to a general and devastating conflict ."
According to what we understand, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, said this when speaking about Ukraine at the Arrajolos summit underway in Porto where 14 other non-executive Heads of State are taking part. The official themes of the meeting, behind closed doors, are support for Ukraine and European challenges in view of the next European Parliament elections in 2024.
«It is a source of sadness to see so many lives cut short, so much destruction, enormous financial resources burned in armaments – Mattarella continued – but what we are doing protects world peace. Naturally, the hope is that the conditions will be created as soon as possible for a process that leads to peace in Ukraine : a just peace, not an ephemeral one."
«Russia has chosen to violate the rules of that international coexistence that it had helped to build – he added -. The Union, on the other hand, appears, once again, to be an element of guarantee of the freedom and independence of the peoples who belong to and wish to be part of it ."
«All this reinforces as a topic on the agenda the enlargement to Ukraine, to the Western Balkans - which cannot be bypassed in this process - to Moldova and, when the time is right, to Georgia», he concluded.
Not far away, in Granada, the leaders of the European Union are meeting for a very delicate informal Council which must lead the 27 towards a reform of the stability pact which Italy awaits with some anxiety, given that it impacts the construction of the Budget Law.
Meanwhile, the Head of State today celebrates 3,167 days at Colle , beating the record of 3,166 set by his predecessor Giorgio Napolitano. He thus officially becomes the President of the Republic with the longest stay at the Quirinale behind him.
(Unioneonline/D)