Italian minister blames Russia for Ukraine truce failures; criticises Israel

By Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer

ROME (Reuters) - Russia does not appear serious about seeking peace in Ukraine despite pressure from Washington, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told Reuters in an interview in which he also voiced anger over Israeli strikes on Gaza.

Italy's conservative government is ideologically aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump and unlike many other European nations, it has refused to criticise his policies.

But while Rome has welcomed U.S. efforts to secure an end to the three-year-old war in Ukraine, ministers have expressed alarm in private over the way Trump has treated Kyiv and have openly warned that Russia might try to deceive him.

"Nothing has changed with the Russians," said Crosetto, who is politically very close to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. "It is clear the Russians want to continue with the attacks as they have over the past three years," he added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday it was not easy to agree with the United States on a possible peace deal, adding that Moscow would not walk into a diplomatic trap.

Underscoring Italy's closeness to the Trump administration, Meloni is due to hold talks with the U.S. president in Washington on Thursday and will then fly straight home to see Vice President JD Vance, who is visiting Rome over Easter.

Italy, like the United States, has firmly supported Israel during its invasion of Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israeli communities by Hamas militants.

However, Crosetto criticised recent Israeli actions in the Palestinian enclave, such as a strike on a hospital and other attacks that killed civilians, including paramedics.

"For me, a Palestinian child is worth as much as a Ukrainian child or an Italian child. A Palestinian hospital is worth as much as a Ukrainian hospital or an Italian hospital," he said, adding that Israel needed to acknowledge its mistakes.

"Sometimes you need to have the courage to say 'sorry'."

The minister said he regretted the end of a ceasefire last month, and worried that the violence could ripple beyond Gaza.

"Gaza is a pond in which a stone is being thrown every day, and the circles that this stone creates widen more and more," he said, referring specifically to the threat of war with Iran. 

DEFENCE BUDGET

On the domestic front, Crosetto stressed the need for Italy to bolster its military spending -- a longstanding demand by Trump -- even though he acknowledged that there was opposition at home to doing more.

Italy's projected defence budget for 2024 was 1.49% of GDP, NATO figures show, below the military alliance's 2% target, which Trump wants raised to 5%. 

The government has said it is considering shifting various budget items, including the coastguard and military pensions, into the defence portfolio and thereby lift spending in one fell swoop to 2% of GDP.

However, Crosetto said years of underinvestment in military equipment and infrastructure still needed to be addressed.

"To begin a serious adjustment, defence spending would need to rise at least 0.5% or 0.6% (of GDP) immediately," he said, adding that the budget would have to remain elevated for many years.

However, he said many Italians were reluctant to prioritize defence because of what he called a mistaken fear this would lead to war.

"Investing in defence is precisely aimed at avoiding conflicts," he said.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer; Editing by Frances Kerry)