“I praised Italy for being a faithful and important ally of NATO, contributing in many different ways to the Alliance’s missions”, a “very appreciated” contribution from a “key ally”. He told theHANDLE the secretary general of NATO Jens Stoltenberg after meeting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “A good meeting”, Stoltenberg called it, on a wide range of topics “currently important for our security”. Stoltenberg then recalled that Italy “plays a very important role as president of the G7”, a presidency which he holds “in a critical period for our security”.
“NATO has no intention of deploying forces in Ukraine. When I visited Ukraine last week the Ukrainians did not ask for NATO troops in Ukraine, what they asked for was more support,” the NATO secretary general told ANSA.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in the meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, praised Italy’s support for Ukraine, “including the supply of a Samp T air defense system together with France”. The Atlantic Alliance announced this in a note.
“Italy – states NATO – has also signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, contributing to improving the country’s defenses, supporting the armaments industry and countering hybrid threats”.
The meeting, NATO informs, “served to discuss preparations for the Washington summit, including work to further strengthen NATO, to achieve more equitable burden-sharing and provide greater support to Ukraine”. Stoltenberg praised Meloni for Italy’s numerous contributions to the Alliance, including leading the NATO battlegroup in Bulgaria and contributing forces to the battlegroups in Hungary and Latvia.
Italy also regularly participates in air policing operations in the Baltic and in NATO maritime operations. Stoltenberg thanked Italy for its commitment to the KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and the NATO training mission in Iraq. The NATO secretary also appreciated Italy’s key role in developing NATO’s approach to the southern neighborhood.
“The fundamental message” that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg brought to Rome “is that we are living in a more dangerous world: we have a new war in the Middle East, we have a great rivalry between powers including China and we have a real own war aggression in Europe. And in this increasingly dangerous world it is even more important to remain united in NATO. The purpose of NATO is to prevent war, not to fight it.” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this in an interview with ANSA after the conversation today in Rome with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
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