Following the weekend telephone calls with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Egypt and Jordan, the Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, had telephone contacts with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Contacts with other Ministers of Foreign Affairs of countries in the region are expected in the coming hours.
“Italy is working with its main international partners and the most important regional players to achieve a rapid de-escalation”, the Deputy Prime Minister stressed. “We have reiterated our condemnation of the atrocious attack by Hamas against Israel, but we want to avert a further widening of the conflict, with the involvement of other actors such as Lebanon, where our country has been engaged for years with militaries to ensure peace”.
During his conversation with the UAE Minister, Tajani expressed his appreciation for the calls for restraint made by those authorities, which urged Hamas to cease hostilities. “Hamas wants to prevent Israel’s rapprochement with the Arab countries, blocking the prospects for peace in the Middle East: the Gulf countries can play a very important role in favour of peace, also in order to safeguard the positive dynamics of recent months”, the Deputy Prime Minister commented.
Tajani also discussed the current situation of Christians in the Holy Land with Cardinal Pizzaballa, who gave an update on the situation in Jerusalem.
