Historic meeting. The G7 Defence Ministers, under the chairmanship of Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, gathered in Naples on Saturday, October 19, for the first-ever G7 Defence Ministerial meeting.
- The meeting was also attended by Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
In a joint final statement… issued on Saturday, the G7 Defence Ministers expressed their “unshakable support” for Ukraine. “We condemn Russia, which has adopted a position of confrontation and destabilization on a global scale, adopting a hybrid war and the irresponsible use of nuclear rhetoric,” the participants stated.
- They also voiced concern over the “latest events in Lebanon and the risk of further escalation.” “We express concern over all threats to UNIFIL’s security. The protection of peacekeepers is incumbent upon all parties to a conflict. We also reaffirm the importance of supporting UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces in their role of ensuring the stability and security of Lebanon,” the statement added.
- The ministers expressed “serious concern” about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterated their “strong opposition” to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion, including in maritime and air domains. They reaffirmed that “maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is indispensable to international security and prosperity,” adding that there is “no change in the basic positions of the G7 members on Taiwan, including the stated one China policies.”
- They also expressed “deep concern” over China’s support for Russia, stating that it “is enabling Russia to maintain its illegal war in Ukraine and has significant and broad security implications, as well as the strengthening of military cooperation between China and Russia.”
Strengthening defence industries. The Defence Ministers committed “to identifying cooperative solutions to address the growing need” defence industries to be able “to sustain a high pace of production, work on building and strengthening resilient and reliable defence industry, including on issues related to supply needed for Defence”.
- They also acknowledged “the need for a more cooperative approach in defence-related research and development, also in terms of sharing and leveraging expertise and knowledge, while fostering a safe environment to prevent malign access, in order to maintain competitive advantage, including in the field of emerging and disruptive technologies”.
On the sidelines of the ministerial… Minister Crosetto met with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
- “Italy and the US are united by the same values and historical ties”, he said. “Our dialogue focused on the current international situation and the severe crisis in the Middle East. Deep reflection on possible initiatives for a just peace in Ukraine. Topics also included relevance of Wider Mediterranean, hybrid conflicts, Africa and possible geopolitical changes. Common will to develop cooperation in the whole field of defence”, he added.
- Crosetto also held meetings with his Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani, and British counterpart, John Healey. They discussed “significant progress” on the Global Combat Air Programme, an initiative to jointly develop a sixth-generation stealth fighter.
- There was great anticipation regarding the UK’s position following the elections, which saw the return of the Labour Party to government. Defence Secretary Healey stated that the meeting was useful to “discuss progress on our GCAP programme, including treaty ratification and other upcoming milestones.”
