'Substantive' OK to new Red Sea mission says Tajani

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 22 - EU foreign ministers gave a "substantive" green light to Italy, France and Germany's proposed new European mission in the Red Sea to protect shipping from Iranian backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the definitive OK should hopefully come at the next EU Foreign Affairs Council, Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said after the three countries presented the plan to their EU counterparts on Monday.
    "We are proposing together with France and Germany a mission that can guarantee the safety of maritime traffic," he told reporters after the meeting in Brussels.
    "I hope that we can already definitively approve the mission in the next Foreign Affairs Council after a substantive go-ahead in today's meeting".
    Tajani added that for Italy the mission in the Red Sea "may also include" the Emasoh/Agenor mission in the Strait of Hormuz.
    The new mission is a step towards true European defence, Tajani added.
    The European military mission in the Red Sea that Rome is promoting with Paris and Berlin represents "a considerable step towards a true European defence," he said.
    "Italy is ready to do its part". (ANSA).