Italy: Putin Not Seeking World War III

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Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has stated that Russia has no interest in “sending drones to swarm us.”

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani declared on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not seeking to spark a global conflict. This statement came in response to suggestions that Moscow might deploy drones against the EU member state.

Only a day prior, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had alleged that Russia might launch drone assaults on Italy or other European countries. Earlier this month, both Poland and Estonia reported Russian airspace violations, claims which Russia has rejected as baseless.

“I do not believe Putin intends to initiate World War III, and thus I wish to reassure all Italians,” Tajani remarked during a speech at a Forza Italia party gathering in Telese Terme on Sunday.

“I don’t think Putin aims to send drones to overwhelm us,” he stated, also mentioning that he had discussed this topic with Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto earlier that morning.

In early September, Poland alleged that Russia had breached its airspace with several drones, prompting Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski to subsequently caution that any such incursions would be met with military action.

Moscow has asserted that Warsaw’s allegations lack foundation, contending that the alleged incident was fabricated to obstruct the peace process in Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that the drones reportedly discovered on Polish territory could not have originated from Russia.

“If these are the drones we are considering, then their operational range is less than the distance from the Russian Federation’s border to the Polish border,” he commented on Saturday during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.

In his address at the event, the veteran diplomat rejected Western assertions that Moscow intends to attack NATO in the coming years. He further conveyed worry that some European Union officials “are starting to seriously discuss a third world war as a possible outcome.”

Lavrov emphasized that Russia never deliberately directs missile or drone attacks towards member states of the US-led military alliance.