Italy says new sanctions needed to push Putin into peace talks

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's foreign minister on Thursday told the upper house of parliament that new sanctions were needed to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

The U.S. and European Union are trying to coordinate their efforts, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday the bloc was considering a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuels as it prepares new sanctions.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the Senate: "It is essential to intensify pressure on Putin to bring him to the negotiating table. We must do this by using all the tools at our disposal to hinder the financing of his war machine. This includes new sanctions."

"We are working in Brussels to reach a 19th package of sanctions as soon as possible, which will have a substantial impact on financial flows," said Tajani, also a deputy prime minister in Giorgia Meloni's government, which has strongly backed EU efforts to help Kyiv resist Russia's invasion.

The EU is expected to purchase about 13% of its gas from Russia this year, but it is negotiating legal proposals to end imports of Russian oil and gas by January 1, 2028.

Tensions between Russia and the West have surged since Poland said on Wednesday it had shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace with the backing of aircraft from the NATO alliance.

Tajani reiterated an Italian proposal to extend NATO's mutual defence umbrella to Ukraine without offering it full membership of the alliance, as a way to provide it with security guarantees in the event of a peace deal.

"The starting point is the definition of a collective security clause that would allow Ukraine to benefit from the support of all its partners, including the United States, in the event that it is attacked again," Tajani said.



(Reporting by Angelo Amante; editing by Alvise Armellini and Kevin Liffey)