Italian president: International community should support Lebanon to ensure Middle East stability
March 22, 2022, 3:41 pm

Italian president: International community should support Lebanon to ensure Middle East stability

Sergio Mattarella has been re-elected President of Italy/Facebook page

The Arab News reported, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said Lebanon must be supported by the international community as it represented “the key to the stability of the Middle East.”

A source in the Italian presidency told Arab News that Lebanon’s difficult economic situation and the need for Syrian refugees to return to their homeland were the main issues of a long meeting in Rome between Mattarella and Lebanese President Michel Aoun.

Lebanese Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah Bou Habib also attended the meeting at the Quirinale Palace, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Italian Parliament via video link.

Mattarella told Aoun: “Lebanon is the key to the stability of the Middle East. For this reason, the country must receive great support and solidarity from the international community so that it continues to guarantee its own security and overcome the serious and urgent political, economic, and humanitarian problems.”

Michel Aoun-Lebanese President (File photo: Official Facebook page)

In their talks, the two presidents also covered issues related to the crisis in Ukraine, the situation in Yemen and Libya, the nuclear negotiations with Iran, and the general situation in the Gulf.

Aoun told the Italian daily La Repubblica that he saw “a grim future ahead for Lebanon” due to the war in Ukraine.

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He said: “The food safety crisis is now our biggest priority, and it is even more important in our internal political situation."

With Lebanon importing more than 70 percent of its grain needs from Ukraine and Russia, he said the supply was likely to become difficult due to the conflict.

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He added: “Lebanon absolutely needs support, especially with regard to its food needs because we are going through a period of extreme poverty that particularly affects some segments of the population."

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.