Antonio Tajani is boarding the plane from Brussels back to Rome, after the EU Foreign Ministers’ Council, in which sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank were decided.<\/p>\n
Minister, what is the significance of your decision?<\/strong><\/p>\n “This proposal has been on the table for some time. The Hungarian veto has finally been overcome, and now that Orban is no longer in power, we have managed to reach a practical, important, and fair decision.”<\/p>\n What kind of sanctions will there be against violent settlers?<\/strong><\/p>\n “They cannot carry out financial transactions in Europe, and they cannot come to our continent. Furthermore, their assets in the EU will be frozen, if they have any.”<\/p>\n However, you have not imposed additional tariffs on their products.<\/strong><\/p>\n It was a possibility that was discussed and will be discussed again. We agree to examine the proposal that will come from the EU Commission. At that juncture, we will go into the details and evaluate.”<\/p>\n Without Orban, is the EU stronger and quicker in its decision-making?<\/strong><\/p>\n “It is more reactive. But now we need to insist on overcoming the right of veto on EU decisions.”<\/p>\n Meloni disagrees with this.<\/strong><\/p>\n “I speak for myself. This has always been my personal position and that of Forza Italia<\/em>. I hope our government allies will be convinced.”<\/p>\n Are you worried that the Israeli government is reacting badly to the EU decision?<\/strong><\/p>\n “The problem is that the settlers are acting badly. I hope this European decision will stop them. And that there will be no more violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and against Christians. The picture of the crucifix torn to pieces by Israeli soldiers is a shock for me and for all Christians. But those IDF soldiers were immediately condemned, as was the soldier who placed a cigarette into the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in Lebanon.”<\/p>\n Do you prefer the picture of the young Palestinians who are currently arriving in Rome to study?<\/strong><\/p>\n “We are continuing to help Gaza, by also supporting university corridors. Seventy–two students are arriving from Gaza and will attend our universities. These are the things that fill me with pride.”<\/p>\n Tomorrow, you and Minister Crosetto will be in the Chamber of Deputies to discuss our ships’ mission in the Strait of Hormuz. The opposition is calling for a Parliamentary vote on this. <\/strong>Would that not be appropriate?<\/strong><\/p>\n For now, the ships are leaving, and then they will head to Hormuz, but only if there is peace. A Parliamentary vote is not needed yet because, in fact, it is not a given that they will go to Hormuz. And in any case, the Aspides mission is already underway in the Red Sea, and the Atlanta mission is underway near Hormuz, fighting piracy. The minesweepers that depart will be attached to Aspides.<\/p>\n What do you expect from Trump’s Summit in China regarding the war in Iran?<\/strong><\/p>\n “Two weeks ago, I asked the Chinese to play a positive role for the ceasefire and for protecting the Gulf countries. China’s position on Iran is not the same as ours, but I believe China could play a key role in convincing Iran to reach an agreement. Everyone should be tired of war, but there is an uncrossable red line, which is Iran’s nuclear weapons. Once and for all, Iran must agree not to build nuclear weapons.”<\/p>\n The other scenario is Ukraine. Does Putin really want to end the war, or is this just flattery?<\/strong><\/p>\n “He said the war must end, and this is already a step forward. But words must be followed by deeds, otherwise they will remain just slogans. For now, I still do not see any concrete action from Russia. There was only an agreement to release prisoners.”<\/p>\n Putin, however, has growing internal problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n “He thought he could win the war in three weeks, but instead he is losing it. Even in an autocratic country, these things matter. He has to deal with the fatigue and doubts of the armed forces and with a population that cannot take it anymore. With a million deaths, to say the least, even an autocrat is in trouble. The May Day celebrations were, in fact, a resounding sign of weakness.”<\/p>\n What do you think about former German Chancellor Schr\u00f6der as the EU’s peace mediator with Russia?<\/strong><\/p>\n “It is not Putin who should decide who should represent us in our talks with Putin, but Europe. At the beginning of the conflict, when it was still believed the worst could be avoided, I proposed Merkel and Berlusconi to the UN for that role. Because they were both staunchly pro-Western, friends of the United States, and very capable of communicating with Russia. It was a missed opportunity for the United Nations not to have chosen them.<\/p>\n Now Merkel, Prodi, and Draghi are being floated as possible names. Do you think they are a good fit?<\/strong><\/p>\n “Someone suggested the President of the European Council, Costa, a Portuguese and a Socialist. He is a prestigious figure. But the Europeans will all decide together.”<\/p>\n Would you like the Biennale<\/em> to be won by Ukraine?<\/strong><\/p>\n “The government’s stance is well known: the Biennale<\/em> is wrong to readmit the Russians. If I were part of the popular jury, I would undoubtedly vote in Venice for Ukraine’s artistic proposal. If Italians and all the other voters at the Biennale<\/em> were to reward a country as attacked and tormented as Ukraine, it would be a great sign of the extent to which we all care about freedom and want to defend it in every way and by every means.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Antonio Tajani is boarding the plane from Brussels back to Rome, after the EU Foreign Ministers’ Council, in which sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank were decided. Minister, what is the significance of your decision? “This proposal has been on the table for some time. The Hungarian veto has finally been overcome, […]","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":187476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[6,28,404,360],"class_list":["post-187543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviste","tag-mediterraneo-e-medio-oriente","tag-ministro","tag-sicurezza","tag-ucraina"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187543","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\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187543"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":187551,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187543\/revisions\/187551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}