France and Italy soon to close deal on supplying Ukraine with SAMP/T air defence systems

France and Italy are close to finalising technical details regarding the supply of SAMP/T anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine. This was reported by two diplomatic sources to Reuters news agency on Thursday, writes European Pravda. Kyiv has repeatedly asked its Western allies for more air defence systems; in particular, Ukrainian officials asked in November for the SAMP/T air defence system, also known as the Mamba.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu will leave for Italy on Friday, where he is to meet with his Italian counterpart Guido Crozetto. Both sides are committed to making progress in the SAMP/T negotiations.

"We are finalising the negotiations with the Italians. It won't be long," a French diplomatic source said.

The system, created by a joint French-Italian consortium, can track dozens of targets as well as intercept 10 targets simultaneously and is the only European-made system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. "The political decision has been made. Now the technical details are being finalised, as it is a complex system," said the second diplomat.

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He added that French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are expected to officially announce the decision. A third official said technical talks were ongoing. Previously, France had already supplied Ukraine with Mistral anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as Crotale short-range anti-aircraft missile systems, which are used to intercept low-flying missiles and aircraft.

On Thursday, during a visit to Odesa, Catherine Colonna, the Head of the French Foreign Ministry, said that Paris has not yet made a decision on the transfer of Leclerc tanks to Ukraine, but promised to respond to Ukraine's request for help with air defence systems.

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