(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 21 - Premier Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday that she was standing by her government's plans to increase military spending, saying it was necessary to defend "freedom", as she reported to the Senate ahead of this week's EU summit.
    She also said that it was necessary to keep up the pressure on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine "This government is used to defending the national interest," she said.
    "We have never made any secret of wanting to increase allocations for military spending, as previous governments did, perhaps secretly, without owning up to it.
    "We do own up to it, as we are convinced that respecting the commitments (on military spending) is vital to defending the national interest.
    "Freedom has a price.
    "If you are not able to defend it, others do, but they do so by putting a price in it".
    She also stood by Italy giving military support to Kyiv and backing Western sanctions on Moscow following its aggression against its neighbour.
    "The pressure on Moscow is fundamental on the geopolitical and diplomatic level to ensure the respect of international law and to create the conditions for a path of negotiations to reach a just peace," Meloni said.
    "Conditions which, so far, have not come about but which we are still pursuing every day with tenacity". (ANSA).