All 20 members of Senate foreign panel quit

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 4 - All 20 members of the Senate foreign affairs committee quit Wednesday in a bid to force out the chair, 5-Star Movement (M5S) Senator Vito Petrocelli, who is sticking to his post despite a political storm over his positions regarding the conflict in Ukraine.
    Petrocelli said ahead of the mass resignation "I am not stepping down because I feel that I represent the Constitution, the will of Italians who don't have any more parties representing them in Parliament".
    "I will honor the pledges for peace and international dialogue that I took with voters in 2018", said Petrocelli, who has opposed the government's package of aid, including military aid, for Ukraine after Russia invaded the country.
    Petrocelli accused Premier Mario Draghi's government, which the M5S supports, of becoming "interventionist" in the Ukraine war, saying in March that he would henceforth vote against the cabinet in all confidence votes.
    Last month, M5S leader Giuseppe Conte announced Petrocelli's expulsion from the movement after the senator posted a controversial tweet on the eve of April 25 wishing Italians "happy Liberation Day" using the capital 'Z' in "liberazione", which has become a symbol of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
    (ANSA).