Antonio\u00a0Tajani\u00a0is spending the day with family in Fiuggi, awaiting developments \u2014 but with no great expectations \u2014 from the Washington summit between Trump and Zelensky. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs is not overly optimistic, convinced that the road ahead remains long. Yet a piece of news from across the Atlantic sparks a glimmer of hope.<\/p>\n
What is it, Minister Tajani? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a positive day \u2014 another important piece in the mosaic of peace. Above all, because everyone agreed on the principle of guaranteeing Ukraine\u2019s security, and that strengthens Zelensky\u2019s hand in negotiations with Putin.\u201d<\/p>\n Are you referring to Europe and the US endorsing the Italian proposal for a new version of NATO\u2019s Article 5? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cExactly. In essence, the Italian proposal has been accepted \u2014 to guarantee Ukraine\u2019s independence through a mutual assistance system in the event of external attack.\u201d<\/p>\n According to US mediator Witkoff, even Putin might accept this security clause.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cOur focus is on Kyiv\u2019s security \u2014 which is also our own. Ukraine\u2019s allies, including the US, would be obliged to intervene if Ukraine is attacked. It would be a positive sign if Putin were to agree.\u201d<\/p>\n That would also dispel concerns over a potential US disengagement from Europe…<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYes. What\u2019s important is that everyone is on the same page. Zelensky will negotiate on borders, but this support strengthens his position when he eventually meets Putin \u2014 and I hope that happens soon. We must continue moving towards peace.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump\u2013Zelensky meeting follows the President\u2019s talks with Putin in Alaska, where the Russian leader appeared to come out on top. Would you agree? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cPutin is not a winner. In three years, he has failed to achieve what he thought he could in three days \u2014 the conquest of Ukraine. He\u2019s being engaged in dialogue in the hope of reaching a fair peace \u2014 one that does not humiliate Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s your assessment of the Anchorage meeting? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt was a step forward. It opened the door to the Washington talks. But the light is still a long way off \u2014 at the end of a very long tunnel \u2014 and the Trump\u2013Putin meeting was far from decisive. Zelensky cannot simply accept all of Russia\u2019s demands.\u201d<\/p>\n European leaders, including Prime Minister Meloni, accompanied Zelensky to the White House \u2014 where he was treated rather brusquely during his last visit. What was the significance of that gesture? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt puts Europe back at the heart of the political conversation \u2014 just as US Secretary of State Rubio called for in Munich last February. After all, the EU has imposed sanctions on Russia, and that makes it a stakeholder in the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n Was the aim to shield Zelensky?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cEuropean and transatlantic unity gives Trump new leverage, and it strengthens Zelensky\u2019s position when facing a united West.\u201d<\/p>\n Putin\u2019s demands are steep: he wants all of Donbas, including the parts not yet under Russian control, as well as Crimea.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe only person who can speak about Donbas and Crimea is Zelensky. No agreement can be made over his head. We stand with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Is it normal to be negotiating while Russia continues bombing?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s proof that Putin is not seriously aiming to reach an agreement anytime soon. Attacks on civilians show he\u2019s using every possible means to seize new territory.\u201d<\/p>\n Is peace even further away in the Middle East?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re calling for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and an end to the bloodshed. Hamas also bears responsibility for the massacre. But Israel\u2019s government has long gone beyond the line of legitimate and proportionate response to the 7 October attack. Once the battle against Hamas is over, the bombing must stop. We oppose the invasion of Gaza, the occupation of parts of the West Bank through settler expansion, and the attacks on Christians. Netanyahu is deaf to the appeals of half the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel is said to be negotiating with Libya, Syria, and South Sudan to relocate Gaza\u2019s residents?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an unacceptable idea. Our objective is the creation of a Palestinian state that recognises Israel. We support the Egyptian plan and are ready to contribute troops to a UN-led, Arab-guided mission to help build a Palestinian state.\u201d<\/p>\n As Minister for Foreign Trade: does the tariff war favour China\u2019s aggressive export policies towards the EU? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cForeign trade figures are reassuring \u2014 exports rose in the first half of this year, thanks to the government\u2019s strategy to diversify markets. In negotiations with the US, we\u2019re heading towards a 15% tariff level, and where tariffs are higher for other countries, Italian products become more competitive. Italy has one of the world\u2019s most diverse export ranges \u2014 second only to China. What\u2019s worrying, however, is the strength of the euro against the dollar, which is hurting us. We need action from the ECB: rate cuts and bond-buying across EU countries \u2014 a new form of quantitative easing, like during the Covid crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Antonio\u00a0Tajani\u00a0is spending the day with family in Fiuggi, awaiting developments \u2014 but with no great expectations \u2014 from the Washington summit between Trump and Zelensky. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs is not overly optimistic, convinced that the road ahead remains long. Yet a piece of news from across the Atlantic sparks […]","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":143661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[6,28,360],"class_list":["post-143682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviste","tag-mediterraneo-e-medio-oriente","tag-ministro","tag-ucraina"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143685,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143682\/revisions\/143685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}