Italy key NATO ally says Stoltenberg

(ANSA) - Rome, May 24 - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday told ANSA that Italy is a key ally and that the Alliance is focusing more on stability planning rather than combat missions.
    Stoltenberg spoke with ANSA prior to meeting with Italian Premier Matteo Renzi.
    "Italy is a key ally, especially in terms of responding to threats from the south, such as the violence and instability that are spreading from the Middle East and North Africa," he said.
    Stoltenberg said the key topics of the meeting with Renzi would be NATO's 360-degree approach to threat deterrence and the "change of discipline" shifting away from combat missions to "stability planning" in both Middle Eastern and North African countries, as well as in Eastern European countries such as Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.