According to CNN, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said his country must resolve some “technical issues” before sending air defense systems to Ukraine. Tajani said that the Italian government was not “slowing down its aid to Ukraine,” without specifying the technical issues with the air defense systems, CNN reports.
Following a conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Dec. 27 that Italy was considering supplying Ukraine with air defense systems.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also spoke with Francesco Talo, an advisor to Meloni on Jan. 6, asking Rome to supply Ukraine with air defense systems as soon as possible.
Sullivan referred to the Italian-French SAMP/T air defense system, according to undisclosed sources in Washington quoted by La Repubblica.