ROMA (ITALPRESS) – “Now we still have 42 Italian prisoners, Italians and Italian-venezuelani, because those with the Italian passport alone are all out. Political prisoners are 24, others are not political: now we work to make sure they can be released as many as possible.” So the vice-premier and foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, in a press point at the Farnesina. On the grounds of the detention of Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlò, “we did not explain why they were inmates, we knew that they were political prisoners and we asked for their immediate release, we were given a positive answer, we did not enter into detail. There are so many accusations, then you have to see how and whether they are formalized. The important thing is that they are coming home and that the relations between Venezuela and Italy have changed,” he added.
“The decision of President Rodríguez to free these Italian citizens is a very strong signal, which goes in the direction of a step change. The President of the Council and I welcomed it as an important novelty and the first answer to Caracas is to raise the level of our diplomatic representation: Today our ambassador is a businessman, with the PM we have informed the head of the state that it is intending to raise the level of the head of the delegation to the role of ambassador. An important political signal – Tajani explained -, a positive response to the message that came to us from Caracas. Now we have to work to make a different collaboration start again: we have 170.000 Venezuelan citizens with Italian passport, are about one million Venezuelan citizens of Italian origin. There we also have an important presence of Eni.”.
“For us, the energy issue is fundamental, Eni also participated in the White House summit with the oil companies most present in Venezuela and we count on continuing to be protagonists in that area.” On the behaviour of the United States in Venezuela, “we have always said that the military solution is not useful to solve the crisis, but from what is emerging above all regarding drug trafficking there was some real threat to the United States.” As for the protesters who burned the American flags during the demonstrations for Venezuela, “I believe that burning the flag of a state does not make any sense, because we must never confuse a government – against which we can legitimately protest – with the history of a people. It must be remembered that the United States of America is those who have allowed Italy and Europe to be free from the two horrible dictatorships of the past century, Nazism and communism,” he concluded.
“LANCIATO APPELLO PER NO A PENA DI MORTE CONTRO MANIFESTANTI IN IRAN”
“As far as Iran is concerned, we have launched an appeal that we do not use the death penalty as a means of repressing the manifestations of young people and women in Iran.” So Tajani at the Farnesina.
“VENERDÌ PIANO ITALIA PER ARTICO, MAI PARLATO INVIO TRUPPE”
“We will present the Italian plan for the Arctic, including Greenland, with Minister Bernini and Minister Crosetto. He never spoke and never was asked to send troops to Greenland. I think we must leave Greenland and Denmark the freedom to choose what is its destiny.”.
