Italy's PM, Zelensky discuss aid, reconstruction

Rome:  Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met on the sidelines of an economic forum in Italy, discussing Ukraine's latest aid needs and reconstruction.

Italy "reiterated that support for Ukraine is a top priority on the Italian G7 Presidency's agenda and reaffirmed the ongoing commitment to Ukraine's legitimate defence and to a just and lasting peace," Meloni's office said on Saturday in a statement.

The two leaders paid "particular attention to the issue of reconstruction, also ahead of the next Ukraine Recovery Conference, which will be held in Italy in 2025," it added.

Meloni and Zelensky held talks during the ongoing annual European House-Ambrosetti forum, an international meeting held in Italy's northern Cernobbio city, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a post on social media platform X, Zelensky confirmed one of the key topics discussed was "Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction, particularly focusing on the restoration of our energy system".

Speaking in a panel at the forum, Meloni also pointed out the risks of destabilisation for the geo-political and economic global space, and said she believed global actors such as China and India "will be able to play a role in resolving the conflict".

Rome has sent weapons to Kyiv, but has said these should be used only on Ukrainian territory, not to attack Russia itself.

In her address to the forum on Saturday, Meloni said the position of EU and NATO member Italy on Ukraine was "extremely serious, determined and clear".

She addressed members of the Italian public who are "scared, legitimately worried about the war", but urged them not to "fall into the trap of Russian propaganda" in believing Ukraine's fate was sealed.

Helping Ukraine fight back against its vastly more powerful neighbour had created the "stalemate" conditions in which peace could be discussed, she added.

Meloni also warned that allowing Ukraine to fall to Russian aggression "will not bring peace, it will bring chaos" and economic consequences "more serious that what it costs today to support Ukraine".

In Germany on Friday, where he also met Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Zelensky urged Kyiv's supporters to provide more weapons and follow through on previous commitments, saying: "The number of air-defence systems that have not been delivered is significant."

And after Ukraine's surprise push into Russia's Kursk region last month, Zelensky again called for restrictions to be lifted on the use of long-range Western weapons.

At Cernobbio, he assured Italy that the weapons would only be used to hit military targets.

In their talks on Saturday, Meloni said she had also discussed with Zelensky a planned meeting in Italy next year on reconstructing Ukraine.

And she "reiterated the centrality of support for Ukraine in the agenda of the Italian G7 presidency", according to Meloni's office.

"I thank Giorgia and the Italian people for their support and joint efforts in restoring a just peace," the Ukrainian leader wrote on X after the talks, posting a video of the pair hugging.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- who upset his EU counterparts and Zelensky by meeting Putin in Moscow in July -- also addressed the Cernobbio forum on Friday.

The Ukrainian President rejected Orban's calls for a ceasefire, saying that Putin had never respected earlier accords.

Zelensky's visits to Italy and Germany came just days after one of the deadliest strikes of the war and as Russian forces make battlefield gains.

Nearly 55 people were killed and 300 wounded in a Russian missile strike on Tuesday on the city of Poltava.

Meanwhile Moscow's forces advance in the Donbas, with Putin on Thursday declaring that capturing the eastern area was his "primary objective" in the conflict.