Policy Exchange’s Grotius Prize 2023 was presented to Giorgia Meloni, President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Government, during her visit here, in recognition of her stalwart support for Ukraine.
Accepting the Grotius Prize – a seventeenth century copy of Grotius’s On the Law of War and Peace in recognition of her contribution to upholding the international rules-based order from Lord Godson, Director of Policy Exchange, she said:
“It is a time of uncertainty and crisis. A time in which all of us – as individuals, populations and Nations – have the opportunity to prove ourselves. A crisis can be the engine of a choice, of an action, of a change. From a crisis we can emerge stronger and freer. And we can track the direction of a new path. A path in which we must have the ability to preserve what is precious and irreplaceable. Our identity, our history, our values. The civilization we built.
“We don’t stand with Ukraine because we like the war, we stand with Ukraine because what we want to defend is stronger than the fear of war.”
You can watch her address here and also read the transcript here.