The military-political consultations of the delegation of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine with representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of the Italian Republic ended in Rome on May 7, the press service of the Ministry of Defense reports.
“The Ukrainian delegation headed by Director of the Strategic Planning Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Yuriy Punda held talks with the Division of International Cooperation, Military Policy, and Planning of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Italian Republic, and experts in the field of security and defense,” the report said.
The report notes that during the consultations, urgent security issues, as well as the state and prospects of Ukrainian-Italian cooperation between the defense ministries of the two countries were discussed.
In addition, during the talks, further ways of bilateral military-political cooperation for 2021-2022 were identified. The parties presented assessments of the development of the military-political situation in the European region, and also determined the directions of the reform of the armed forces.
“The Ukrainian delegation told the Italian colleagues about the current situation in the JFO area and the reform measures carried out in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular, on the transformation and development of the military command and control system and its transfer to the standards of NATO member states,” the ministry said.
It said that during the consultations, the need was emphasized to consolidate the support of our state on the part of the NATO members, including the provision of a NATO Membership Action Plan, which will help curb the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
It was also noted that the integration of Ukraine into the Euro-Atlantic space and the acquisition of full membership in NATO is today a constitutional norm.
“The Italian colleagues noted the importance of developing relations with Ukraine in the defense sector and showed support for the independence of our state and its territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders,” the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said that as a result of the negotiations, the parties signed a plan of bilateral cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the Armed Forces of the Italian Republic for 2021.
