Zelenskyj in Rome: "Important visit for our victory"

2023-05-13 11:29:00

Zelenskyj arrived at Rome’s Ciampino Airport on Saturday and was received there by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. He will hold talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after the 1pm meeting with Mattarella. At around 4 p.m. he will be received in audience by Pope Francis and at 6.30 p.m. he will be interviewed by the star journalist Bruno Vespa for the RAI 1 channel. “An important visit for the victory of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram after his arrival in Rome.

Right-wing politician Meloni had already supported arms deliveries to Ukraine before she won the election in September last year. On the other hand, their two coalition partners – Matteo Salvini from the right-wing Lega and Silvio Berlusconi from the conservative Forza Italia – repeatedly made pro-Russian statements. Meloni met Selenskyj in Kiev in February and secured further support for Ukraine.

Citing sources in the Vatican, the Russian news agency TASS pointed out that the meeting between the Ukrainian president and the pope “is not directly related to the (peace) mission” announced by Pope Francis on his flight back from Hungary at the end of April. Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Pope has been committed to a peaceful solution to the conflict.

It was also unclear whether Selenskyj would continue to Germany after the appointments in Rome. In Berlin, people have been preparing for Zelenskyj’s visit for a long time – but this was not confirmed until Friday. On Sunday the Ukrainian President will be awarded the renowned Charlemagne Prize in Aachen. It was unclear whether he would accept it himself.