Ukrainian, Italian officials discuss defense, energy, economic support to Kyiv

​​​​​​​By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Secretary of Ukraine's Defense and Security Council Rustem Umerov said Thursday that he discussed defense, energy and economic support for Ukraine with Italian representatives.

Umerov said on Telegram that he and Ukrainian lawmaker David Arakhamia met Italian Defense Minister Guido Crozetto, diplomatic adviser to the chairman of the Council of Ministers of Italy Fabrizio Sajo and representatives of Italian security structures.

"We discussed defense, energy and economic support for Ukraine, as well as synchronized positions on further steps of cooperation," he said.

Umerov said meetings were also held separately with the management of the largest defense companies, but he did not specify the locations.

"We talked about strengthening the Ukrainian defense industry, in particular, developing air defense capabilities to protect our cities," he said.

Earlier this week, the Ukrainian delegation worked in Geneva, where US-mediated talks with Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine took place.