Italy to propose global ceasefire for 2026 Winter Olympics

A planetary truce for the duration of February’s 2026 Winter Olympics successful Milano Cortina volition beryllium sought by hosts Italy.

Italy volition taxable a connection for a worldwide ceasefire to the United Nations earlier adjacent year’s Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani said.

As a concept, a planetary truce during the Olympics dates to the past games successful Greece, wherever warring factions agreed to enactment down their arms for the duration of the event, truthful that athletes could safely question to and from past Olympia.

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Calls by Olympics organisers and the UN for planetary ceasefires person not been heeded connected the juncture of modern-era Games since 1896, including the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Milano Cortina Games unfastened connected February 6 and tally to February 22.

“In presumption of the Milano Cortina Olympics, we are presenting a connection for an Olympic truce for each wars, including Ukraine and the Middle East, to the United Nations,” Tajani said connected Tuesday.

“We indispensable beryllium champions of peace,” helium said connected the sidelines of an planetary league successful Rome. “We enactment the US program (to extremity the warfare successful Gaza), and, arsenic Pope Leo has said, we indispensable ne'er springiness up hoping for peace.”

The 20-point program presented by United States President Donald Trump, connected which Israel and Hamas began indirect talks connected Monday, is seen arsenic the astir promising inaugural to extremity a warfare that has killed much than 67,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023. The Hamas-led onslaught connected Israel that time killed 1,200 people.

Tuesday marked the 2nd day of the warfare connected Gaza.

In effect to Gaza’s devastation and humanitarian catastrophe wrought by Israel’s subject campaign, a fig of large Western countries, though not Italy, person formally recognised Palestinian statehood, endorsing longstanding Palestinian aspirations to an autarkic homeland connected Israeli-occupied land.

In Ukraine, the pro-Western authorities has been battling a Russian penetration for much than 3 and a fractional years, successful Europe’s biggest equipped struggle since World War II and 1 that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.