Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Confirms Rome Sent Its Peace Plan For Ukraine To UN

Italy proposed a roadmap for peace in Ukraine, which will require participation of various countries and organizations, and submitted the document to the United Nations, Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Manlio Di Stefano confirmed on Friday

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2022) Italy proposed a roadmap for peace in Ukraine, which will require participation of various countries and organizations, and submitted the document to the United Nations, Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Manlio Di Stefano confirmed on Friday.

According to Di Stefano, the resolution of Ukrainian crisis is only possible through concerted diplomatic actions at the international level.

"Based on this shared understanding, (Italian Foreign) Minister Luigi Di Maio, in close cooperation with the government palace of Chigi (Council of Ministers), developed the 'Peace Plan' presented in New York in talks with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres," Di Stefano said on social media.

On Thursday, La Repubblica newspaper reported that Italy had proposed a four-phase plan to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, which was handed over to Guterres. The Italian Foreign Ministry made no comments in connection with these reports.

"It is a proposal split into four phases, which include a ceasefire, Ukraine's neutral status secured by international political guarantee and linked to (Ukraine's) accession to the European Union, negotiating a bilateral agreement between Kiev and Moscow on territorial issues and, in particular, on the disputed regions of Crimea and Donbas, and signing a new multilateral agreement on reformatting international balances, starting with relations between the European Union and Russia," Di Stefano said.

The deputy foreign minister stressed that the success of the plan hinges on active and coordinated participation of the so-called "International support group," which will unite various countries and international organizations, such as the EU and the UN. The members of the group will be entrusted with peacekeeping and observation missions, monitoring activities and multilateral coordination of aid and reconstruction activities through the "Donors' conference," the foreign ministry official explained.

Di Stefano noted that the plan is designed to ensure Ukraine's territorial integrity, "but above all" to achieve a peaceful resolution, in which the EU would play a leading role, "given the direct and immediate economic and energy consequences of the crisis for member states and its geographical proximity to Russia."

On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow does not know yet the details of the plan proposed by Rome for the settlement in Ukraine, but welcomes any contribution to finding a political solution to the situation.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. Moscow and Kiev have made several attempts to negotiate a ceasefire; however, no agreement has been reached so far.