“The Risks Are Clear,” Meloni Slams US-Russia Diesel Deal as Ukraine War Continues | AC1B

In this context, we must also consider the Russian diesel agreement announced last Friday by US President Donald Trump. It is a decision that I consider very risky. Clearly, we all understand and share the need to keep energy prices under control, as they weigh heavily on families and businesses, including in Italy. However, we must be aware that the surge in fuel prices is due above all to the war in Iran. not to the conflict in Ukraine. Therefore, the outcome of this decision is uncertain, while the risks are clear. We have done enough. A legitimisation of Moscow while its bombs continue to fall on Ukrainian cities, new revenue streams to finance the war, and an implicit weakening of the sanctions leverage are factors that we cannot ignore. They also contradict what Western countries, including the United States, have done so far to push Putin to come to the negotiating table. If there is no agreement on a single name, we are also prepared to consider alternative solutions. If, for example, France, Germany and Great Britain, within the well-known E3 format, believe they can act on their own more effectively than all of us acting together, and so far that has been the choice they have made, then at the very least they should do so on behalf of everyone and with an official mandate granted by all. A situation like this requires a coordinated response and Italy will bring to Brussels a number of priorities that it considers fundamental, protecting our critical infrastructure. Here I am referring to energy networks, undersea cables, ports, airports and the underwater domain where Italy possesses outstanding expertise.