The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano:
“In the last few days, I have again talked about the developments in the Gulf crisis with the Foreign Ministers of the United Arab Emirates and of Saudi Arabia during their respective visits to Rome.
I appreciate the will that they expressed to exclusively pursue diplomatic channels in order to reach a solution.
The Memorandum of Understanding between United States and Qatar and the new legislation passed by Qatar to make the struggle against terrorism and its financing more effective, represent positive developments and confirm Qatar’s commitment also as a member of the Global Coalition Against Daesh. Fighting terrorism is a priority for Italy. In this perspective, promptly re-establishing cooperation between the Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council is necessary also with a view to giving a common response to terrorism and extremism.
I hope there will be a sincere dialogue between the Countries involved, based on the respect for international law, national sovereignty and individual dignity, in order to alleviate tension, tackle the causes of the dispute and achieve a lasting and sustainable solution as quickly as possible.
In this perspective, while reaffirming Italy’s concern for the humanitarian fallout of the crisis, I confide that the land border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia will be reopened as a gesture of goodwill.”
