Italian defence minister warns global security framework is increasingly precarious due to competing world visions…reports Asian Lite News
Defence ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) countries have backed Ukraine’s “irreversible” path to NATO membership and expressed concern over threats to United Nations peacekeepers targeted by Israel in Lebanon.
The one-day gathering in Naples on Saturday marks the G7’s first ministerial meeting dedicated to defence.
Italy holds the G7’s rotating presidency for 2024 as the countries grapple with a range of international issues, including the Russian advance in Ukraine, China’s military activities around Taiwan and heightened tensions along the border of North and South Korea.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told reporters the G7 could not solve global tensions alone but needed to stimulate action across the international community. “The G7 must be like a gadfly that has the strength to sting the rest of the world,” he said at a news conference.
Along with Italy, the G7’s members are Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and United States. Representatives of NATO and the European Union and Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov also joined the talks. In an earlier address, Crosetto warned of a “deteriorated security framework” across the world and said near-term forecasts for conflict resolution “cannot be positive”.
Tensions have been fuelled by confrontation between “two different, perhaps incompatible visions of the world”, he said. In its final statement, the G7 backed Kyiv’s “irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership”.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he was worried by the North Korean contribution to the Russian war effort.
“[It] makes it clear that this conflict is spreading to other regions of the world in terms of its reach,” he said as the G7 also expressed concerns over China’s support of Russia and Beijing’s recent military drills around Taiwan.
The G7 meeting came two days after Israel announced it had killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, accused of being the mastermind of the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which responded with a devastating assault on Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sinwar’s death in Gaza signalled “the beginning of the end” of the war against Hamas while US President Joe Biden said it opened the door to “a path to peace”. But some analysts said Sinwar’s killing could lead to a deepening of Israel’s presence in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
The G7’s joint declaration called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli captives still held by Hamas, saying attacks and retaliation risked “fuelling uncontrollable escalation in the Middle East”.
The EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, said the killing of Sinwar could raise the chances of an end to the conflict in Gaza, finally allowing more humanitarian support for the war-battered population.
He said the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, which was recently targeted by Israel in its conflict against Hezbollah, could be made more effective but it would be up to the UN Security Council to make decisions on its future.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he would like Israel to scale back some of its strikes on Beirut and added that Israel had told him it had no intention of targeting UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.
Italy is a major contributor to the peacekeeping force, which is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon. Israeli attacks have angered Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who visited Lebanon and Jordan on Friday.
Josep Borell, the High Representative of the European Union, and Mark Rutte, NATO’s Secretary General, also attended the one-day meeting.
Their joint declaration also condemned Iran’s ballistic missiles and large-scale attacks against Israel and emphasised the importance for all parties to act in accordance with international law.
The G7 defence chiefs also expressed concern over all threats to UNIFIL’s security in Lebanon, saying the protection of the peacekeepers is incumbent upon all parties to a conflict. Security in Africa and developments in the Asia-Pacific region were also discussed.
Italy holds the 2024 rotating chairmanship of the G7, a group that also includes the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain, Germany, and France.
Defence ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have expressed concerns over the escalating tensions in the Middle East. In a joint statement issued on Saturday at their first summit of this year in the southern Italian city of Naples, the ministers said they were worried about “escalation” in the Middle East after Israeli attacks on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We express concern about all the threats to the security of UNIFIL,” the statement said. “The protection of peacekeepers is incumbent upon all parties to a conflict.”
The ministers of G7, which groups the UK, Italy, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, and the US, said they firmly support UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces to ensure the stability and security of Lebanon.
They all back a “significant and sustained increase” in humanitarian aid to Gaza, as well as a sustainable pathway to a two-state solution.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the European Union (EU)’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell are invited to the meeting on Saturday. Borrell urged a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and respect for the UNIFIL in Lebanon.
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