Ukraine wants Renzi to take G7 to Putin

(ANSA) - Rome, June 9 - Premier Matteo Renzi must make clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin all of the concerns raised by Group of Seven leaders over the Ukraine crisis, that country's ambassador to Italy told ANSA on Tuesday.
    Ambassador Yevhen Perelygin said he "expects Renzi to bring the message of the G7 leaders to Putin" when the two national leaders meet on Wednesday as Putin visits Milan Expo 2015.
    Putin is later slated to meet with Pope Francis in Vatican City.
    "Violating world order isn't allowed, neither with Kalashnikovs nor with nuclear arms," Perelygin said in an interview with ANSA.
    "Russia still isn't aware of the consequences of its aggressive and foolish actions. Prolonging sanctions would be a good thing", he said.
    When the G7 met on Monday in Germany, United States President Barack Obama said that expanding existing sanctions on Russia over Ukraine was a possibility.
    Obama said Putin was destroying his country's economy in "a wrong-headed desire to recreate the glories of the Soviet empire". As well, in its official, final statement the G7 leaders said: "We are concerned about the recent increase in fighting along the line of contact," in Ukraine.
    Meanwhile, Perelygin said he hopes that when Pope Francis meets Putin, he will "repeat the message he pronounced in Sarajevo recently: he who speaks of peace while conducting war is a hypocrite".
    Pope Francis gave a homily on peacemakers to a crowd of over 65,000 in Sarajevo's Kosevo stadium last Sunday.
    There, Francis said that "all are capable of proclaiming peace, even in a hypocritical, or indeed duplicitous, manner," but added that "peacemaker" means "those who make peace".