Italy has not been asked to
contribute to a new NATO mission to fight human traffickers and
illegal immigration in the Aegean Sea, Defence Minister Roberta
Pinotti said on Thursday.
"I would say that we are doing our part in the fight
against terrorism and traffickers," she said.
Pinotti said earlier this week that NATO should help Italy
as well as Aegean nations combat people smugglers.
US Defense Ash Carter announced earlier on Thursday that a
NATO defence ministers meeting had approved the Aegean Sea
mission to fight the human traffickers, per a request from
Turkey.
The mission is to be carried out by Germany, Greece, and
Turkey in cooperation with the EU, many of whose member States
have offered vessels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg
said.
Its objective is to fight traffickers and not to "stop or
send migrant vessels back where they came from," he said.
Asylum seekers rescued by NATO will be taken to Turkey, he
said.
Vessels contributed by Greece and Turkey will operate only
within their respective national waters. The mission will begin
"reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance of illegal border
crossings immediately", he added.
It will employ three vessels from Standing NATO Maritime
Group 2 (SNMG2), a multinational maritime force that is
permanently available to the Alliance for a range of tasks -
from training exercises to crisis response and real world
operational missions. Usually it is employed in the
Mediterranean.
NATO Supreme Commander General Philip M. Breedlove was "en
route" to the SMG2, Stoltenberg said.
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