Italy and the United States are "united" with the European Union over Russia's three-month-old invasion of Ukraine and have also expressed this unity within NATO, lower house of parliament speaker Roberto Fico said on Thursday.
"Italy and the United States, together with the EU, have expressed a united position, a unity reaffirmed also within the Atlantic Alliance, which is an absolutely crucial," Fico said after talks at the parliament in Rome with US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"We discussed the brutal aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation and underlined our support for the Ukrainian people and their institutions," said Fico.
"The goals is to obtain a peace agreement as soon as possible which respects the rights of Ukraine's institutions and its population," he added.
Pelosi said that during her meeting with Fico she thanked Italy for the leading role it is playing in efforts towards ending the conflict in Ukraine.
"The importance of international negotiations cannot be denied during this current phase and these must be based on strength. I hail the role played by Italy within the EU and NATO," Pelosi told Fico.
Cooperation between Italy and the US and their shared positions on Ukraine and other geopolitical issues are strengthened by "very strong and enduring ties, based on history," Pelosi said.
"We work together with the shared objective of reciprocal security and defence," Pelosi underlined.
