Not Yet Time for Diplomacy. Lessons from Italy’s Ill-Conceived Peace Plan for Ukraine

JOINT Brief No. 17 (June 2022)

Few may have noticed, but Italy recently advanced its own diplomatic proposal for a resolution of the war in Ukraine. Rome’s ambitious peace plan¹ received little international recognition, although it was reportedly shared with the Quint – an informal consultation group comprising the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy – and formally presented to UN Secretary General António Guterres on 18 May 2022.² Crucially, the plan failed to impress the leaderships in both Ukraine³ and Russia,⁴ leading Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio to put it aside on the grounds that circumstances are not “ripe” for such an initiative.⁵

Notes:

1- Eric Sylvers, “Italy Circulates 4-Point Peace Plan”, in The Wall Steet Journal, 20 May 2022,  Italy Circulates 4-Point Peace Plan (wsj.com)

2- Giorgio Del Gallo, “Di Maio Meets Guterres at UN Headquarters, Offers Peace Plan for Ukraine”, in OnuItalia, 18 May 2022, https://bit.ly/3wFgR0n.

3- “Ukraine Savages Idea of Concessions to End War, Evokes Appeasement of Nazis”, in Reuters, 26 May 2022,  Ukraine savages idea of concessions to end war, evokes appeasement of Nazis | Reuters

4- “Ukraine: Italian Peace Plan ‘Not Serious’ Says Lavrov”, in Ansa, 26 May 2022, https://www.ansa.it/ english/news/2022/05/26/ukraine-italian-peace-plan-not-serious-says-lavrov_c663ace1-bbce-41e7- b017-edc0814787d7.html.

5- Ygnazia Cigna, “Di Maio sul piano italiano per l’Ucraina: «Oggi non ci sono le condizioni, ci vorrà tempo. Medvedev lo boccia? Così non vuole la pace»”, in Open, 24 maggio 2022, https://open. online?p=999063.