Amb. Piccioni, 'Moscow awaits Trump's choices on Ukraine'

(ANSA) - ROMA, 16 DIC - "I think the outcome of the polls in Washington has brought a degree of relief on the one hand and some concern on the other in Moscow. For while it is true that Harris was feared for his extremist excesses, it is equally true that it is clear in Russian perceptions that the first Trump presidency has begun, a presidency that is not easy on Moscow. Russia is waiting to see what will happen on the banks of the Potomac. President-elect Trump has made it clear that the transactional logic that has always guided him will also apply in the case of the Ukrainian conflict and therefore it is clear that pressure is expected from the Kremlin'. Italy's ambassador to Moscow Cecilia Piccioni said, speaking to ANSA on the sidelines of the ambassadors' meeting at the Farnesina.
    "I believe that the recent events in Syria clearly show how Ukraine is the only real game that Moscow cannot afford to lose and therefore I believe that the real 'game changer' will be to find a square to save face for those who are currently losing 1,900 men a day in the field," she noted.
    "I believe that, as Minister Tajani said clearly today, the polar stars of Italian action are Atlanticism and the European Union, so I think that this unity of the Western front, which Moscow did not think it would have to face, will be maintained. And let us not forget that the widening of the arc of crisis from Tel Aviv to Taiwan, passing through Damascus and Seoul, does not help Moscow. I believe that Europe has a very important role to play, a leading role. With the arrival of Trump in Washington, perhaps the great advantage will be to see a more certain timeframe for the conclusion of the conflict, which we all hope will be near, and I believe we cannot ignore the need to talk to each other again,' Piccioni concluded.