On the eve of her departure for the United States, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni participated in a new video conference of the Coalition of the Willing, which enabled coordination ahead of today's meeting in Washington. “During the discussion, the importance of continuing to work with the United States to end the conflict and achieve a peace that ensures the sovereignty and security of Ukraine, which will have to be involved in any decision regarding its future”, she said. The discussion also confirmed the need to maintain collective pressure on Russia and solid and credible security guarantees", a note from Palazzo Chigi reads. The Italian government, in Washington, “will move alongside the other European countries”, says Deputy Foreign Minister Edmondo Cirielli in an interview with La Stampa newspaper. "Meloni has never thought of disengaging from Europe. She has always had a mediating attitude. I remember that on tariffs, for example, there were those who wanted to create an opposition with the U.S. by threatening them with counter-tariffs. What a bizarre idea. We have always tried to put the alliance first, and that pays off", he stresses. "The tones the Americans use toward the Europeans have changed. I'm not sure this same meeting, months ago, would have been possible. Trump could have ignored the European side, whereas now there is a close confrontation, there is recognition of the centrality of the alliance, and that is good. So much so that the U.S. seems willing to offer security guarantees to Kiev, whereas at first they threatened disengagement". In this regard, France, Germany and the UK are back talking about sending peacekeeping troops to the border with Russia, with U.S. support. Should Italy participate? "Italy will always move alongside the Western democracies, and the American presence is crucial. And equally important that we move under the auspices of the UN. If Russia agrees to the presence of troops in Ukraine, I don't see what problem there could be with the presence of the blue helmets". When asked about previous oppositions, he clarifies the government always said "it was premature to talk about it without even the shadow of a peace agreement. And we argued that sending a contingent of only European forces would be illogical at that time, if not counterproductive. With an agreement, everything changes”. In the meantime, should the pressure on Moscow be kept up, as Macron calls for? "Absolutely. Meloni says the same thing. Military and economic support for Kiev must be maintained until the end. Now U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not ruling out a cease-fire. Let's hope that this optimism is justified”.