Europe must stay united to stop Russian president Vladimir Putin's "lucid madness" in waging a full-scale war on Ukraine and avert "the spread of violence through the rest of the continent", according to Italy.
"Before the (24 February) invasion, we had only issued threats and Putin counted on our divisions. He thought we were split, but on the contrary, we are united," Di Maio told La7 TV channel.
Putin's "unseemly" reactions to the international response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine show he is "rattled", Di Maio said.
"We need to continue in this way and he will start to retreat. The Ukranians are a European resistance movement," Di Maio underlined.
Western allies have no alternative to ending the war in Ukraine, Di Maio argued.
Should Putin's forces take control of the former Soviet state, "Putin will target another European country and will continue to spread violence through the rest of the continent," Di Maio warned.
Despite the West's commitment to mediating in the escalating Ukraine crisis, Putin "with lucid madness decided to invade a country that democratically elected (Ukrainian president Volodymyr) Zelensky with 73% of votes," Di Maio recalled.
"No one is under the illusion that Putin will meekly come to the negotiating table. We must keep hitting Russia's economy with sanctions and support the Russian people," Di Maio argued.
