Italy enjoys "excellent" ties of friendship with Ukraine, supports its European Union entry bid and wants to play a leading role in its reconstruction, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday.
"Italy has excellent relations with Ukraine, it is a friendly country," Tajani told reporters on the sidelines of an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on Monday.
"We support your candidacy to be a member of the EU - we want to be protagonists in the reconstruction phase," Tajani added.
The government will organize "a major event" in Italy on rebuilding Ukraine that will involve "as many companies as possible", Tajani went on.
In a further sign of Italy's unwavering commitment to Ukraine, its territorial integrity and a just peace with Russia, premier Giorgia Meloni is holding talks in Kiev on Monday with president Volodymyr Zelensky, Tajani noted.
During her talks in Kiev, Meloni will signal Italy's readiness to support any joint European decisions to send fighter jets to Ukraine in a bid to turn the tide of the war with Russia, La Repubblica daily reported on Monday.
The Italian government is looking to play a leading role in Ukraine's post-war reconstruction - a message that Meloni will underline during her visit, Tajani said.
"Ukraine will be part of the EU single market," Tajani stated.
