Italy FM: Sending a Western contingent to Ukraine is not on the table

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Mar 2023 19:33

The comments came in response to a recent statement made on the subject by Hungarian PM Viktor Orban.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023 (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

In response to a recent statement made on the subject by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated on Sunday that the West has never discussed deploying a contingent of "ally soldiers" to Ukraine.

Orban had stated earlier this week that the West was extremely close to seriously considering deploying "allied soldiers" to Ukraine, and the probability of the Ukrainian war escalating into a World War was growing more pertinent every day.

"I have no knowledge of this. We never talked about sending troops to Kiev. The day before yesterday there was a meeting of foreign ministers with Blinken and there was never any talk about sending troops to Ukraine," Tajani told the Radio24 station.

Hungary has maintained its position of neutrality throughout the war in Ukraine and has continued to voice its concerns. Budapest supported the return to peace talks and insisted that there can be no winner in this war.

Budapest even expressed support for China's peace strategy issued back in February which included a 12-point position paper on Ukraine that highlighted all the steps required to reach a "political settlement".

Earlier this week, during a speech at the Hungarian parliament, Orban said that Western leaders were suffering from "war fever" evidenced by "sending more and more dangerous weapons to Ukraine," as the sending of fighter jets to Kiev, which used to be "considered taboo," is already on the agenda.

In the context of this speech, the Hungarian Prime minister brought up the possibility of the West sending a military contingent to Ukraine to fight Russian forces.

"I think we are very close to suggesting, in all seriousness, that the soldiers of Ukraine's allied countries cross the border and enter the territory of Ukraine," Orban said.