Italy has always backed Ukraine's "territorial integrity and sovereignty" and believes its aspirations to European Union membership are "legitimate", foreign minister Luigi Di Maio stated on Monday.
"We have always supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and believe the request to enter the EU is a legitimate one," Di Maio told Italy's public broadcaster RAI's Tg1 news bulletin.
Di Maio made the remarks after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that he had signed an official request for Ukraine to join the bloc.
Senior EU officials believe that Zelenskiy's request may be important in negotiating an end to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The invasion began on Thursday, causing international outrage and triggering tough sanctions against Russia including cutting key Russian banks out of the SWIFT financial messaging system.
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