Meloni sees "glimmers" of hope for peace, but warns: "Only Kiev can negotiate."

He sees "glimmers of peace," insisting on the "crucial point" of "security guarantees" to be provided to Ukraine. "An Italian idea," that of "a system inspired by NATO's Article 5," which, he claims, has been echoed by US President Donald Trump. But, above all, he reiterates that only Kiev can "negotiate the conditions" and the fate of "its territories." The day after the Alaska summit, Giorgia Meloni—while acknowledging that ending the war "is still complicated"—sees "finally a glimmer of hope for peace discussions in Ukraine."

These words precede by a few minutes the joint statement signed by European leaders, after a flurry of talks this morning, including with the US president himself, who reports on their face-to-face meeting with Putin. European and NATO leaders are categorical: "It is clear that Ukraine must have unconditional security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity," explained Meloni herself, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and EU leaders Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen.

"Russia cannot have a veto over Ukraine's path to the EU and NATO. It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its own territory," the European leaders added. "International borders must not be changed by force." These conditions are echoed by Meloni herself, emphasizing: "The crucial point remains security guarantees; only Ukraine can negotiate on the conditions and its own territories," the Prime Minister said . The government then announced that tomorrow the Prime Minister will participate—via video link—in the meeting of the willing convened by Macron , which precedes the Ukrainian president's trip to Washington.

European leaders say they are "ready to work with Trump and Zelensky to organize a trilateral summit with European support," but above all, they specify that "the Coalition of the Willing is ready to play an active role" in offering security guarantees for Ukraine. This point, emphasized by the Prime Minister, is that Italy is the originator of the idea of an 'extra-NATO' Article 5, yet fully comparable to the protection enjoyed by members of the Atlantic Alliance. And Italy, as Meloni assures, will continue to do its part. So much so that the Foreign Ministry's Minister, Antonio Tajani, immediately offered Rome's availability as the venue for a possible Trump-Zelensky-Putin trilateral. "We are available and will continue to work to achieve peace quickly. It won't be easy, but yesterday a light went on," he emphasized, admitting, however, that "there is still much work to be done."