Defence Minister Guido Crosetto on
Monday said the deployment of UN troops in a peacekeeping
mission in Ukraine, if accepted, would be positive news while
noting that discussing the issue before a truce was very
difficult.
Crosetto highlighted that Italy has always been part of UN
peacekeeping missions in the past although Parliament would need
to ratify such a decision in the future, if needed, speaking on
the sidelines of a congress on road safety at the Lower House.
The defence minister also noted that Europe cannot have its
army.
In the event of a truce in Ukraine, "it would be positive news
if UN troops were to be accepted", said the defence minister.
"I consider the presence of the international community a
guarantee of stability and security in an area that needs it.
"But talking before a truce or before the truce's rules exist
becomes very difficult", he noted.
"Italy has always been part of peace missions but Parliament
will need to make the decision, if necessary", added Crosetto.
"Europe can't have its army", Crosetto went on to say.
"The European armed forces are like NATO's armed forces: NATO
doesn't have its army but the sum of the armed forces of member
coluntries so the future European defence can only be formed by
the sum of the Italian, German, French and Spanish armies, all
together as in NATO, where they are able to interoperate.
"Forces from different countries succeed in operating together
by having a central command and control", said Crosetto.
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