Putin wants to influence EU election – Italy’s top diplomat

This was stated by the head of the Italian Foreign Ministry, Antonio Tajani, who spoke at the ANSA Forum on Thursday, Ukrinform reports.

"Putin is conducting a hybrid war and trying to influence the European elections, trying to divide the West. But we are all united in the defense of Ukraine," said the foreign minister.

According to Tajani, NATO’s unity is not on the line at the moment.

He also reiterated Italy’s position of not following suit of Ukraine’s other Western partners that allowed the use their weapons for hitting targets inside Russia.

"We are only in favor of Italian weapons being used only for defence within Ukrainian territory," he said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, elections to the European Parliament will be held across all EU member states on June 6-9.

This year, given certain demographic changes, citizens of EU countries will elect 720 Members of European Parliament, which is 15 more than in the 2019 election.