By Angelo Amante
ROME, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Italy’s government is set to delay the approval of a decree that would allow Rome to prolong military supplies to Ukraine into next year, sources close to the matter said on Tuesday.
The hold-up comes amid tensions within Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition government over support for Ukraine against Russia’s full-scale invasion, now approaching its fourth anniversary.
Meloni has pledged to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression to the end, but her deputy Matteo Salvini, leader of the League party, has questioned the rationale for continued support.
The decree for Ukraine aid was on the agenda of a meeting on Wednesday set to prepare the next day’s cabinet, but was taken off because the agenda was already too full, the sources said, asking not to be named.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Italy’s government has sent 12 packages of military aid to Ukraine, including the SAMP/T air defence system, as authorised by the decree system.
The authorisation regime allows the government to act without seeking parliamentary approval for each new round of military deliveries. The decree currently in place expires at the end of the year.
Once approved by the government, the new decree would be immediately effective, but would need to be ratified by parliament within 60 days.
In his criticism of aid to Ukraine, Salvini has referred to the graft scandal that is rocking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s administration, while the U.S. continues to press for a peace deal with Russia.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante. Editing by Alvise Armellini and Mark Potter)
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