He found her “wearied, of course, but serene, strong. Her head held high”. Antonio Tajani is still with her in Ciampino with the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her parents, to greet her with a “Hurray! Welcome back Cecilia” when finally on the phone she could breathe a sigh of relief. “These were difficult days, we worked continuously, we spent them devoting every effort to the case. Today we can say that there has been teamwork between the government, intelligence, diplomacy and also with the family who have been very good at handling the situation and the media blackout. The Prime Minister, who attended all the meetings, also played a direct role. And then the situation really got moving on the last night. Discretion and unremitting work bring results.”
But media attention helped too. Cecilia Sala is a well-known figure, the efforts had to be maximum…
“Our efforts are always at their maximum and are the same for every Italian citizen. And, where possible, so are the results, as we saw in the Piperno case in Iran. The Italian Foreign Ministry is committed to supporting every Italian abroad who is in difficulty, this was a particularly delicate case.”
Personal for you, too.
“I know Cecilia’s father, it is clear that I shared his concern as a father, but I repeat: all Italians who need help are equal in our eyes.”
What can you say about the negotiations, what happened?
“There has been a continuous dialogue, and I repeat, our intelligence, diplomacy, the government have done their best. Being a country like ours, which maintains relations with all the countries in the Middle East area, even with those whose policies and actions we do not agree with, makes it possible to act effectively even in the face of great difficulties. It is no coincidence that we have maintained political relations with Iran open, we have kept the embassy in Syria open, where I will go tomorrow after the Quintet meeting. I will reiterate to the new Syrian authorities the importance of an inclusive political process that guarantees the fundamental freedoms of all Syrians, recognises and values the role of Christians as citizens with full rights, and I will also announce the first aid package for cooperation.”
But was there or was there not an “exchange”, where there promises, for the release of the Iranian engineer Abedini?
“They are two separate things, the Iranian authorities have also explained it. The Abedini case is being dealt with by the Italian judicial authorities, we will see what happens. Then, if necessary, it will be the responsibility of the Minister of Justice. Cecilia Sala was instead an Italian citizen accused of violating local laws, and that was what we worked on.”
So how does the Sala case end?
“As we speak, she is being interviewed by the ROS (Raggruppamento Operativo Speciale – Special Operations Group), there are well established procedures. But that’s it. We did what we had to do.” In this case, did the opposition parties help you? “I have to say that, apart from a few isolated voices, we have seen a responsible opposition. Of course, we have kept channels of information open, and Undersecretary Mantovano has reported to COPASIR (Comitato parlamentare per la sicurezza della Repubblica – Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic). So yes, everyone has done their part.”
Did Trump also contribute, who received a surprise visit from the Prime Minister on 4 January?
“It had a political impact that complemented the broader political work to make it clear that Italy was engaging with the United States, but there was no direct consequence on Sala’s release. It is possible that the acceleration for the journalist’s release also occurred in these days before Trump’s official inauguration, that the timing was favourable.”
Is it true that you too would have wanted to be with the Prime Minister at Trump’s residence?
“That was a mission of the Prime Minister. I will go to the US when the new administration takes office, I will meet my counterpart Rubio, I will work on my files.”
But won’t he be there when Trump takes the oath of office?
“That’s a domestic American thing, not a government thing. There will be time, we will deal with all open dossiers in due time starting with the one on tariffs on imports.”
However, in these days the impression is that the Italian government is very close to the American one. Perhaps, too close for many, given Musk’s presence and also his intrusiveness in Italian affairs.
“At the moment, Musk is a private citizen and a very successful entrepreneur. When he is in government, it is obvious that he will have to measure his statements. Then, as far as his company’s satellite communications system is concerned, that’s another matter.”
What are we talking about?
“A technological choice that the Italian State must make. I have no preclusions regardless, Musk is one thing, his company is another. If it can provide the best services, why reject it out of hand? We will see, there will be evaluations, we will choose the best to guarantee the services necessary for our administrations.”
Are you not afraid that Musk’s presence, his intervention in the internal policies of other European countries, coupled with Trump’s verbally very aggressive attitude, may put Europe at risk?
“Europe and the US are two sides of the same coin, the West. We have common interests and must have common goals if we are not to weaken ourselves: we will work well with the Trump administration. Europe and America must remain allies: it is our destiny, it is our strength.
