After 13 years of civil war, Rome is pushing for a change in European policy towards Syria. Foreign Minister Tajani warns against allowing Moscow a “monopoly” in Damascus.
Despite the ongoing civil war in Syria, Italy wants to send an ambassador to Damascus again after more than a decade. This was announced by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani before the relevant parliamentary committees in Rome. In recent years, Italy – like other countries in the European Union – had its diplomatic affairs in Syria handled through its embassy in Lebanon. The Italian embassy in Damascus was never formally closed.
Tajani justified the deployment by saying that the EU should not “leave the monopoly” to Moscow in Syria. Russia is considered one of the protecting powers of ruler Bashar al-Assad. There has been a civil war in Syria since 2011, with more than 300,000 civilian deaths. Despite being largely isolated by the West, Assad and his power apparatus currently control around two-thirds of the country.
Italy’s foreign minister went on to say that after 13 years, the EU must adapt its Syria policy to the “evolution of the situation”. With this demand, he is in line with his colleagues from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia. A coalition of three right-wing parties has been governing Italy for almost two years.
Source: Stern
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