Over 50% of Italians Support Launch of Peace Talks on Ukraine Conflict - Poll

ROME (Sputnik) - Over half of Italians (58%) believe that it is necessary to launch discussions on the issue of peace talks on the Ukraine conflict, a poll conducted by Italian demographic institute Winpoll showed on Friday.

Those surveyed were asked about Italy’s actions related to the Ukraine conflict. As many as 14% of the respondents said it was necessary to cease any assistance to Ukraine, while 28% agreed with the international community’s support for Kiev, apart from another 58% who advocated the launch of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the poll said.

The largest share of those opposing military assistance to Ukraine (19%) consists of respondents aged from 45 to 65, while young people under the age of 30 (61%) backed continued support for Kiev, the survey said. At the same time, 72% of those sampled aged over 65 years signaled the importance of launching the negotiation process.

The survey was conducted by Winpoll from January 22-24 among 1,000 people across Italy.

Last week, a poll carried out by La Repubblica newspaper showed that public approval of military assistance for Ukraine had reached a historic low in Italy, with only 42% of Italians being in favor of continued military supplies. It found that the share of Italians in favor of continuing to send military aid to Ukraine dropped from 50% in April 2022 to 47% in September 2023 to 42% now, while the share of those opposed to continued military supplies increased to 57%.

Italy has adopted eight packages of military aid for Kiev, the last of which was approved in December 2023. The sixth package, adopted in early 2023, included air defense systems, mainly the advanced Samp-T anti-aircraft complex. The rest of the list of weapons supplied by Italy to Ukraine is mostly classified. In December, Italy's Council of Ministers adopted a bill to extend military, humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine in 2024.