Italy has stigmatised outside
interference in Libya, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said
Wednesday.
There are no military shortcuts in the Mediterranean region,
Di Maio said.
"The broader Mediterranean is seeing a particularly turbulent
phase above all in Libya, Iran and Iraq," Di Maio told the
Senate.
"Widespread instability closely touches national interests.
"The more Italy can be united and compact the more it will
succeed in fielding an effective political action.
"In the Mediterranean there are no military shortcuts, they
do not produce sustainable solutions.
Di Maio added that Italy had "stigmatized" outside
interference in Libya, which had turned into a proxy war.
He called for a European mission against this interference.
Di Maio said Sunday's Libya conference in Berlin had been set
up "also thanks to us".
The foreign minister also said Italy's priority was military
security in Iraq.
He said Italy was asking for a compromise between Iran and
the United States.
Di Maio said Italy had been informed by the US after its
drone strike killing Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in
Baghdad.
Di Maio added: "may a farsighted and shared vision prevail
over short-sighted polemics, there are no simple solutions to
complex problems in foreign policy.
"Italy has balance in its DNA".
Italy is ready to rejig its military presence in Libya in the
light of recent developments, Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini
said Wednesday.
The recent developments including a likely ceasefire "impose
on us a reflection on a possible remodulation of our military
effort", he told the parliamentary defence committees.
"We could hypothesise an international intervention to give
solidity to the security framework, respecting an eventual
request for support made by the international community".
There have been no direct threats to Italian soldiers,
Guerini said, despite General Khalia Haftar's moves against
Misrata.
Eastern Libyan strongman Haftar has been attacking Tripoli
since April.
Haftar has said he will attend peace talks in Berlin on
Sunday, where the US has also said it will attend.
Guerini said ", despite the acquisition of the control of
Sirte by (Haftar's) Libyan National Army, and the greater
exposure of Misrata to General Haftar's aims, there don't appear
to be direct threats towards our contingent in loco".
Gureini added that ships of the EU's Sophia operation could
be used to stop arms flowing into Libya.
"Every effort must be made so that the ships of Operation
Sophia can return to carrying out the essential task of putting
a brake on the continuous flow of arms to the factions fighting
in Libya".
On the mission, which is currently 'frozen', he said "a
decision will have to be taken at the end of March".
On Iraq, Guerini said that in future the international
intervention could pass over to NATO.
"I think that NATO may represent the future dimension of the
international intervention in Iraq, progressively replacing the
Coalition, replicating the model implemented in Afghanistan," he
said.
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