Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Benedetto Della Vedova, received the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Polish Republic, Martin Przydacz at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The meeting went into greater depth especially in relation to EU-Russian relations, the situation in Belarus, and prospects for the European Security and Defence Policy.
Mr Della Vedova agreed with his counterpart, on the need to maintain an unequivocal, firm European position on Moscow’s approach to violations of international law (e.g. in Ukraine), limitation of human rights (above all the Navalny case), and its destabilising activities (e.g. recent cases of spying and diplomatic expulsions). At the same time, he continued, “Italy is still convinced that we need to aim for stable, predictable relations with Russia, keeping the channels of dialogue open with Moscow.”
The Deputy Minister then referred to the similar need for European solidarity and cohesion in relation to the challenges posed by the migration crisis, which weighs mainly on the Mediterranean Countries. “Reallocation within the Union is the only way to deal with migration in a humane way, and to make the responsibilities imposed on the member States of first entry sustainable,” said Mr Della Vedova.
In closing, the Deputy Minister expressed the widespread concern in Italian public opinion and in sectors of our parliament, at the recent decision by the Polish Constitutional Court on the question of abortion, to Deputy Minister Przydacz. “We are confident that the Polish Government will give due consideration to these concerns, arising from our shared European values and principles”.
