ROME – The Italian Council of Ministers may meet between Friday and Saturday to pass a decree for a new deployment of Italian troops, in line with the measures that NATO is taking following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, political sources say. The decision is in the hands of the Higher Defence Council, which was due to be convened by President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday.

 Following a specific request made by the Baltic countries and Poland, NATO decided to strengthen the eastern flank of the Euro-Atlantic space by launching an "Enhanced Forward Presence" measure (EFP), which considers the deployment of four battle groups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

 Currently there are 238 soldiers stationed in Latvia as part of this mission.

 The Defence Council explained that the EFP is "a measure of a defensive nature, proportionate and fully in line with NATO's international commitment which intends to strengthen the Alliance's principle of deterrence”

 Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi appealed to the Russian president directly, saying, "Putin, put an end to the bloodshed and withdraw the military forces from the Ukrainian borders unconditionally.”

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