Zelensky, Meloni discuss defense cooperation, security guarantees for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has discussed defense cooperation, sanctions against Russia and work on security guarantees for Ukraine with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The head of state announced this on the X social media platform, Ukrinform reports.

"I spoke with Giorgia Meloni to express gratitude for her and Italy's strong support for Ukraine. [...] We discussed our ongoing defense cooperation and the need to speed up the adoption of the 12th EU sanctions package on Russia," Zelensky wrote.

He said that Italy is demonstrating powerful leadership and Ukraine expects its 2024 G7 Presidency to yield even more important results.

Zelensky noted that both sides had coordinated joint efforts and agreed to start working on bilateral security guarantees following the relevant G7 Vilnius declaration.

In addition, Zelensky thanked Italy for supporting the Ukrainian Peace Formula and invited Meloni to participate in the second Grain from Ukraine summit.