Rome: Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has weighed in on the latest feud between US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, saying that he did not understand the US leader’s “attitude”.
“Our bond with the United States does not depend on governments, on Prime Ministers; it is deep and very solid. I don’t understand Trump’s attitude these days also because it seemed to me from what I had seen on television that there were no problems in relations with Italy,” Crosetto said on the ‘Caffe della domenica’ programme on Radio 24, Italian news agency Adnkronos reported.
“My relations with the United States, even in these hours, are always absolutely normal and have not changed…. they have not altered, including those with the American ambassador in Italy, with whom relations are excellent and who I think is also in great difficulty these days.”
“Many of Trump’s attitudes stem from his own reflections….perhaps often not shared, but there is nothing from a defence point of view, nor from other points of view, that can be attributed to Italy. Compared to other European nations, we have done much more, even just in the use of bases: where we have fully respected the treaties, other nations have decided not to respect them and have denied their use. It’s a difficult attitude to understand, which I regret because it harms the deep relations between the two nations,” the minister said.
Trump, in his statements over the last 48 hours, criticised Italy – and NATO – for the lack of support for US actions in relation to the Strait of Hormuz.
On this, Crosetto said: “Unfortunately, in recent years, we have been accustomed to a series of ups and downs in international relations, even more so in relations between the United States and other countries and Iran. It’s not easy, it won’t be easy, and this memorandum signed a few days ago is not the end of a path that will still be very long.”
“From the point of view of defence and military, we are absolutely ready; every mission of this type requires significant preparation and organisation,” he said, referring to Italy’s role in the post-war management of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The ships are already in Djibouti, the minehunters, ready to intervene if there is parliamentary authorisation and if the conditions we have requested for intervention are met. We are not sending ships to wage war, but we are sending ships to carry out a humanitarian demining operation, therefore not prepared to confront someone who might attack you or perceive you as hostile,” he contended.
The United States and Iran, after signing the memorandum of understanding, are engaged in direct talks to achieve stable peace and to find an agreement on the management of Tehran’s nuclear programme.
IANS
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