The position of the Italian government remains cautious, very cautious on the option of blocking the Swift banking system for Russia. In the evening, Palazzo Chigi reaffirms the line, which can be summarized as follows: better stick to the agreement reached on Thursday night between the leaders in Brussels. In that pact, there was no trace of the toughest weapon against Moscow. The reason for the perplexities is explained by Daniele Franco, head of the Economy: he would create a “problem” with respect to the payment of gas supplies destined for Italy and other EU countries.
It is precisely the banking chapter that is at the top of the priorities of this phase. In the middle of the day, Luigi Di Maio hints that Italy is ready to accept the option of a blockade of the Swift for Moscow. A potential turning point that comes after Berlin and Paris, which had also slowed down. But the news does not last long, since it is Franco who redirects the official position of the government. But it is perhaps this hesitation of Rome that caused the incident between Draghi and Ukrainian President Zelensky.
Dragons: all united for Ukraine. Fears for gas, another 1500 soldiers ready for NATO
by our correspondent Tommaso Ciriaco
The fight revolves around the missed phone call. But it probably hides more: more than a misunderstanding during the telephone bridge between the two diplomats, irritation over the Italian position on sanctions weighs heavily. And perhaps also the annoyance for the image – involuntarily returned by the premier – of an unreachable commander-in-chief, which may have given rise to the suspicion of an enemy capture or exfiltration in progress while the country defends itself in arms.
In short, these are delicate hours. Days in which the executive’s moves discount, at least in some cases, the confusion of the general picture. On one front at least, however, the work seems to be proceeding quickly: the drafting of emergency plans to deal with the crisis. There is no time to waste, so yesterday afternoon the Interministerial Unit for Situation and Planning (Nisp) met at Palazzo Chigi. The idea is to call the table every 48-72 hours. The new appointment is for next Monday: three days to sketch out answers at the height of the moment.
Draghi on Ukraine: “The darkest days in European history”. Skip the phone call with Zelensky. And he: “Next time I’ll move the war agenda”
In fact, Italy is entering a war situation: economic, energy, health, commercial, migratory. And military: for now the perimeter is that of NATO deterrence, but Putin’s provocations on the Baltic countries are feared. Certainly, some analyzes examined in the last few hours also indicate the risk that Russia could expand its sphere of influence even further by expanding into Georgia and Moldova, after taking Belarus and Ukraine. A bleak scenario.
To manage the meeting on behalf of Mario Draghi is the Undersecretary to the Prime Minister Roberto Garofoli. Present are the head of Dis Elisabetta Belloni, the delegates of internal and external intelligence, the Civil Protection and Cybersecurity Agency, the representatives of the key ministries. The hottest chapter is the energy one. If Russian gas is no longer available, Plan B plans to enable the country to extract more national gas and, at the same time, invest in wind and photovoltaic. The possibility of reopening coal-fired plants is also in the field, while the liquid gas promised by the United States would require regasifiers that are not there. However, it is possible to collaborate with other European countries, for example on hydrogen, on which Germany has long started: Italy could help its production with the energy generated by solar and wind power.
But that’s not enough. Civil Defense field hospitals are planned on the western border of Ukraine. An airlift for refugees. Finally, twelve million are destined for the “transfer of non-lethal military means and materials to the governmental authorities of Ukraine”. And in these hours we are also working a lot on the cyber front: the danger – as reported by the National Agency for Cybersecurity – is due to a malware, HermeticWiper, which deletes data to make it irrecoverable.