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(A7) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday linked between the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza, saying that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago was the precursor to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, Politico reported.
“If Russia had not invaded Ukraine, in all likelihood Hamas would not have launched such an attack against Israel,” Meloni was quoted as having told Italy’s Il Giornale newspaper.
“It was inevitable that such a serious violation of international law, moreover at the hands of a permanent member of the UN Security Council, would have cascading consequences on other areas of the world, from the Middle East to the Balkans, up to Africa,” Meloni said in the interview, which was published as she arrived in Kyiv to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This is the game we are playing, and we must be aware. If international legality is not re-established in Ukraine, the outbreaks of conflict will continue to multiply,” she said.
Meloni also expressed support for a two-state solution in the interview, saying it is “in everyone’s interest, both Israel and Palestine.”
Meloni, who heads the right-wing Brothers of Italy Party, won Italy’s national election in September of 2022.
The Brothers of Italy party is considered a far-right party and has drawn accusations of fascism and semi-fascism, though it suspended a candidate who had praised Hitler prior to the election.
Meloni arrived in Israel for a solidarity visit in October, two weeks after Hamas massacre of October 7, and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.
