Italy wants to work alongside the UN and other countries like Turkey to de-mine Ukraine's waters and create maritime corridors to unblock the export of millions of tonnes of wheat of wheat and ease the global food crisis.
"Italy has already signalled its readiness to take part in any de-mining and intends to back a central role for the UN and possibly other partners such as Turkey in carrying out and coordinating operations," foreign minister Luigi Di Maio told lawmakers on Wednesday.
"The Russian aggression is causing a serious food crisis, the potentially devastating effects of which are impacting Africa in particular, " Di Maio added.
Italy is pushing for the creation of "maritime corridors" to transport basic foodstuffs, above all wheat, from Ukrainian ports, Di Maio said.
Clearing mines from Ukrainian waters, especially off the port of Odessa, is vital for the creation of such corridors, Di Maio noted.
Russia's president Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia was ready to facilitate the unhindered export of grain from Ukrainian ports in coordination with Turkey, said a Kremlin readout of talks between Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
