The Stoltenberg-Tajani call. On Friday, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs had a telephone conversation today with NATO’s Secretary-General. The two touched upon some of the issues that will be addressed at the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Bucharest on 29 and 30 November.
- Minister Tajani reiterated that Italy – a founding country of the Atlantic Alliance – continues to promote its action, emphasising that the Transatlantic and European dimensions of Italian foreign policy are essential for the country’s security.
- He also recalled how Italy traditionally ranks first, along with the United States, in terms of contributions to allied operations and missions, which also include the Command of NATO’s two main “out-of-area” missions in Iraq and Kosovo.
Focus on Ukraine, Balkans. “Italy strongly supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, full independence and resilience. We will maintain our political, military, financial and humanitarian support to Kyiv,” said FM Tajani, according to a readout from his Ministry.
- With regard to the Western Balkans, he informed Mr Stoltenberg about the results of his recent joint mission with Defence Minister Crosetto to Belgrade and Pristina. As tensions escalated, the two emphasised the need to work together to defuse tensions and foster relations based on open dialogue and mutual respect.
And shoring up cooperation. Finally, Minister Tajani expressed the hope that the Strategic Partnership between NATO and the EU would be further strengthened – in the context of the Alliance’s adaptation process – in order to deal more effectively with the challenges to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area from all strategic directions, including the southern flank.
