The Syrian crisis was one of the items on the agenda of the NATO ministerial meeting. Italy would consider the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons “absolutely unacceptable”, stated Minister Giulio Terzi, participating in the two-day meeting in Brussels. “We already informed the Syrian ambassador of that during the UN General Assembly in New York”, he added, “following suit with the Alliance’s principal partners, and that was not all”.
Political solution a priority
The minister underscored that “a political solution, first and foremost” was what Italy was aiming for. “We discussed post-Assad reconstruction and institution-building with many colleagues”, he stated, “Our immediate concern is still for the damage and horrible killings the regime is causing; we are pushing for a political solution based on the Doha platform”.
“Concern” for the southeast border
Arriving at the Alliance’s Brussels headquarters, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen defined the situation at NATO’s southeast border as one of “deep concern”, reiterating “full solidarity with Turkey”. Moreover, he stated that he was expecting a favourable decision on the deployment of a battery of Patriot missiles, “to demonstrate our determination to deter all threats”, adding that Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov had already been informed “in a spirit of full transparency”.
