WASHINGTON (UNITED STATES) (ITALPRESS) – “Italy wants to be the protagonist of the new political phase in the Middle East and contribute concretely to the stabilization and reconstruction of Palestine.” This is the message launched by Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, at a press point at the Italian embassy in Washington, on the edge of the first meeting of the Board of Peace, to which Italy took part as an observer country.
“We talked very deeply about how to get to Palestine’s stabilisation with a Palestinian government, but first we have to secure the territory and this first phase will be important,” said Tajani, underlining how the outlined path foresees a preliminary phase of security, considered indispensable to start a credible political process. The reconstruction, he added, was faced in the final part of the meeting, while the confrontation focused mainly on “very serious proposals” of political nature. The head of Italian diplomacy has highlighted the difference between the Palestinian and Iranian dossier.
“The situation in Iran is different from that in Palestine, the Board of Peace talks about reconstruction in Palestine. Let us see what will happen in the talks between Iranians and Americans and hope that Iran will not continue in the path of the construction of the atomic bomb”, he said, highlighting Italian attention also on the developments of the dialogue between Tehran and Washington.
Tajani made it clear that Italy took part in the meeting as an observer, but judged the meeting as a significant step. “I think today a series of concrete proposals have come. It is certainly not a business board, but there are political proposals to build peace in the Middle East,” he said, reasserting that Rome intends to play an active role in the new phase. “We want to be protagonists of the construction of peace because it has always been our goal in recent years”, added the minister, underlining how Italian participation meets both a political strategy and a long-term vision linked to the stability of the area. Tajani also explained that Italy cannot formally participate in the Board of Peace because of constitutional constraints, but it still intends to be an integral part of the political process. “We cannot participate in the Board of Peace because it prevents the Constitution, but we want to be political protagonists of the new phase we want to build together in the Middle East,” he said. The minister highlighted how the presence at the meeting of the majority of the European Union and the European Commission shows a shared interest on a continental level. “The fact that the majority of European Union countries were present today and the European Commission means that there is an objective attention that is not only an Italian whim”, he said.
As for the role of the United Nations, Tajani rejected the idea of tensions with the multilateral system. “There was no attack on the United Nations, indeed from Trump’s words and Rubio’s desire to collaborate with other forces for peace in Palestine,” he said, underlining the availability of an inclusive approach. In conclusion, the minister defined the “positive” day, highlighting a convergence of intent among participants. “We are all oriented to work in the same direction. We have reiterated in all the talks we had that our interest is being protagonists in the reconstruction of Palestine,” he said.
– Photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
