Poland, Italy call for strong security guarantees for Ukraine

WARSAW: Poland and Italy believe Ukraine must receive real security guarantees, the countries' prime ministers said on Wednesday, ahead of a NATO summit where Kyiv hopes to receive a strong signal that it will be able to join the alliance in future

Ukraine has been pressing NATO to declare at the July 11-12 summit in Vilnius that Kyiv would join the alliance soon after the end of the war, and to set out a roadmap to membership. But members such as the U.S. and Germany have been more cautious, wary of any moves they fear could take the alliance closer to an active war with Russia, which has long seen NATO's expansion as evidence of Western hostility.

"We are in perfect agreement with Poland on the need for real security guarantees for Ukraine, also because offering real security guarantees to Ukraine is also a key condition for the achievement in the future of a just and long-lasting peace," Italy's Giorgia Meloni said during a visit to Warsaw. Meloni reiterated that Italy will keep giving "all round support" to Ukraine "for as long as necessary", and said "this also applies to the upcoming Vilnius summit".

Meloni has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv despite some misgivings among her conservative coalition allies, who in the past have been close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the two countries' views were in line on Ukraine.