ROME, August 6. /TASS/. Giuseppe Conte, leader of Italy’s opposition Five Star Movement and a former prime minister, said his party would continue to vote against arms supplies to Kiev, La Stampa reported on August 3.

"We will continue to abstain from voting in favor of further [arms] supplies to Ukraine," the newspaper quoted Conte as saying.

Instead of sending weapons, the former prime minister’s party will seek to achieve a breakthrough in negotiations between the parties to the conflict, La Stampa said.

Conte’s statement has caused deep divisions over Ukraine among Italy’s left-wing parties ahead of the 2027 parliamentary election, Politico reported. According to the publication, Conte’s party and Italy’s Democratic Party are polling level with the center-right bloc led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. At the same time, public support in Italy for continued assistance to Ukraine remains low, Politico said.