Giorgia Meloni warns that Putin is seeking an escalation with Europe to divert attention from the war in Ukraine

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned Thursday in Oslo that Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to provoke an escalation of tensions with Europe to distract attention from the unfavorable developments in the war in Ukraine. Meloni made the remarks alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and urged European allies to analyze Moscow’s motivations before responding.

The Italian prime minister said provocations have multiplied in recent weeks and that a European response that widened the confrontation would serve Russia’s interests more than anyone else’s. She urged European countries to ask themselves who would benefit from an escalation.

The warnings come amid several incidents reported on NATO’s eastern flank, including airspace violations, drone attacks and acts of sabotage attributed to Russia. On Thursday, two Russian military aircraft entered Lithuanian airspace, and two Italian aircraft intervened as part of NATO’s air defense mission.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Russia could be preparing hybrid attacks involving drones and missiles against countries supporting Ukraine, including Poland, presenting them as accidents to create distrust in NATO and call Article 5 into question.

Meloni also called for the appointment of a single European envoy for Ukraine to represent all of Europe, including countries such as Norway and the United Kingdom.