Italy, Turkey and France will make the cooperation group between the three countries functional again, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Thursday.
Speaking to the Italian press, Draghi said, "We decided to reactivate the group between Turkey, France and Italy, one of the cooperation platforms created over the years and then interrupted. Soon, the three countries will have a meeting."
Stating that his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the NATO leaders' summit in Brussels was positive, Draghi said the sanctions against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine had weakened the Russian economy.
Draghi also said it is "impossible" to include either NATO or the European Union in the request for a "no-fly zone" over Ukraine. Speaking on Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to switch to Russian rubles for natural gas sales payments, Draghi said, "We see it as a breach of existing contracts."
Putin announced Wednesday Russia will start selling gas to "unfriendly" countries in rubles after Moscow's trust was shaken by foreign nations as Russian assets were frozen.
"Russia will continue, of course, to supply natural gas by volumes and prices ... fixed in previously concluded contracts," Putin said at a televised meeting with top government ministers.
"There was no condemnation against China. On the contrary, there is hope that Beijing will contribute to the peace process," he added.
President Erdoğan attended the NATO summit in Brussels, as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that the alliance must boost its defenses to counter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “respond to a new security reality in Europe.”
The president also met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
While Erdoğan arrived in Brussels late Wednesday, he was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun and Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın.
The extraordinary meeting of NATO heads of state and government discussed the alliance's response to Russia's war on Ukraine, which entered its second month on Thursday.
The summit, with a particular focus on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, reviewed the steps the alliance will take to strengthen its defense and deterrence.
During the summit, the leaders also discussed the steps and decisions to shape NATO's future prior to the Madrid summit that will be held in June to adopt its new Strategic Concept.
NATO's long-term stance in Eastern Europe was also evaluated at the meeting.
