Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said
Friday that the Italian Constitution forbids Premier Giorgia
Meloni's government from allowing Kyiv to use the weapons it
gives Ukraine on targets in Russian territory.
Many of Italy's allies have said they will allow Ukraine to use
their weapons for strikes inside Russian territory after NATO
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's suggested Kyiv should get
the all-clear for this.
"Every state has its own laws, its own Constitution," Crosetto
said at the national conference of Confindustria's Young
Entrepreneurs in Rapallo.
"Article 11 of our Constitution imposes caveats on us with
respect to the use of the weapons we give to Ukraine.
"They must be used for the defence of Ukraine, which includes
striking Russians in Ukraine, but they cannot be used on the
territory of another country.
"This is my opinion and it is shared by the premier and
(Foreign) Minister (Antonio) Tajani".
Those words echoed what Tajani had said earlier on Friday at an
informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Prague.
"For is it is impossible for our weapons to be used outside
Ukraine," Tajani said. "We are ready to send more weapons but it
is important that these weapons are used inside Ukraine for
defense, such as air defense.
"We have sent Samp-Ts (air-defence systems) and it is possible
for us to send other Samp-Ts for defence.
"But it is important that these weapons are used inside Ukraine
for defence".
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