Telephone call between Minister Tajani and the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot

The Vice President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, had a new telephone conversation yesterday with the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot. At the heart of the conversation the situation in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, the European Union and bilateral relations.

“We share with Minister Barrot the need to reach a ceasefire in the Middle East as soon as possible,” he indicated. Tajani. “It is now a priority to avoid further escalation on the Iranian side and to promote an agreement between Israel and Hamas also in light of Sinwar's disappearance,” underlined the head of the Farnesina.

The two Ministers then focused on the situation in Lebanon, agreeing on the priority of resolving the internal political crisis and providing support to the Lebanese Armed Forces to ensure the stability of the country. "We want to intensify cooperation with international partners to strengthen Lebanese institutions. With my colleague Barrot we reiterated the importance of the UNIFIL mission for the demilitarization of the Blue Line in application of Resolution 1701, underlining the unacceptability of any attack against the military and structures on the ground" stressed the Vice President.

“Italy and France are committed to giving maximum support to the local populations affected by the conflict” he then explained. Minister, who recalled how "the humanitarian conference on the Middle East on the occasion of the G7 in Pescara and a few days later the one in Paris on Lebanon have allowed us to identify concrete aid to deal with the ongoing crisis". Tajani then illustrated to Barrot the support of 27 million euros to address the crisis in Lebanon and 70 million euros for the humanitarian response in Gaza allocated by Italy, then highlighting the results achieved by the program "Food for Gaza“, with the successful involvement of the private sector and non-governmental organizations.

Tajani and Barrot then focused on the situation in Ukraine, expressing concern over the increase in Russian attacks against civilian infrastructure and also over reports of North Korean forces being involved in the conflict. “We must continue to support Kiev also in view of the upcoming winter. In addition to military aid, Italy has provided 15 million euros in immediate aid for critical infrastructure and we are also committed to future reconstruction, with the preparation of the Conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine on 10 and 11 July in Rome,” he indicated. Tajani.

The two Ministers then discussed the prospects and priorities of the new European Institutional cycle also in light of the American elections, highlighting the need for the EU to strengthen the competitiveness of its single market, in addition to dealing with increasingly concrete measures on the issue of irregular immigration. The conversation therefore allowed us to reiterate the priority of the theme of connectivity between Italy and France. “We must ensure the full functionality of Alpine infrastructures to support our businesses” he indicated Tajani, who recalled the difficulties regarding the situation of the Mont Blanc connections in addition to those of Frejus, of Moncenisio and of Tenda.