ROME (ITALPRESS) – “From our side there is great attention on Syria: the first signs are not negative, because it seems that the rebels who have taken power want to send positive messages to the West. We will see how their initiatives will continue in the coming days, but we want to be optimistic.” Thus Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to Five Minutes. “Those who stole the cars in the Italian embassy in Damascus were probably armed thugs, who took the opportunity of the uprising against Assad to enter the embassy,” adds Tajani, -We decided, however, to leave it open, to follow the evolution of the situation and give a sign of the Italian presence in the Middle East: some of the Italians in Syria have fled to Lebanon, others have decided to stay and we will follow them through the crisis unit. On the recognition of the regime, we are in contact with G7 and EU partners, but also with Turkey: yesterday I had a long talk with the Turkish foreign minister, who guaranteed support to protect the Christian minorities. The rebel leader wants to accredit himself in front of the world: we will see if concrete facts will follow, the important thing is that he abandons his old principles. Syria faces the Mediterranean, and on this Russia is the big loser in this revolution, along with Iran.” “Israel does not want risks of terrorism and is happy to have lost Assad: the Golan was a neutral zone and today they have occupied it. They do not want the use of chemical weapons and they know that there is no unity among the rebels in Syria.” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Five Minutes. “Turkey is an important interlocutor for this situation,” Tajani continues, -We have suspended all visa authorization procedures: if there had been civil war we would have risked a wave of migration, but now citizens are returning from neighboring countries. Italy can be a hinge between Europe and the new American administration, playing a role as a privileged interlocutor.”
– Photo: Photogram Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
