Photo: LaPresse
Valerio Castro
A river meeting, which lasted for more than three hours, and served – even after the dissent that occurred within the majority in recent days – to clearly and unambiguously reaffirm Italy’s position on the international stage. Sergio Mattarella convenes the Supreme Defense Council at the Quirinale and analyzes the main foreign policy documents together with the Government. Along with him, apart from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani; Interno owner Matteo Piantedosi; Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto; head of Economics, Giancarlo Giorgetti; Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso; Chief of Defense Staff, General Luciano Portolano.
In short, sitting around the table were representatives of all the political forces supporting the Government. There were also members of the Northern League, although not Matteo Salvini, who most clearly invited the public to think about the possibility of new arms deliveries to Kiev. Mattarella, Meloni and the ministers began the meeting from Ukraine: they observed “with great concern the persistence of Russia in achieving, by all means, its own goal of territorial annexation”; they highlight the bombing in Kiev, the large number of victims, the “serious” energy disruption: “the price borne by the population is increasingly heavy and unfair”. This is why – we read in the statement issued at the end of the meeting – the Council affirmed “Italy’s full support for Ukraine in defending its freedom” and “the twelfth military assistance decree is framed in this sense”, which will be delivered on December 2 by Guido Crosetto in Copasir. Participation in EU and NATO initiatives to support Kiev and the country’s future reconstruction efforts remains fundamental for Mattarella and the Government.
Not only that. There is also the use of drones deployed by Moscow, violating the airspace of NATO and countries on the eastern front, which on the one hand confirms “the readiness of the Atlantic Alliance”, on the other hand highlights “the need for Europe to adapt capabilities to new scenarios through the definition of innovation projects as stated in the Defense 2030 White Paper”.
In the Middle East, the Council assessed “positively” the achievement of a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, although “concern” remained over episodes of violence that still resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties. “It must be reiterated – the CSD statement – that the feelings aroused by the events in Gaza cannot flow into the despicable anti-Semitism that is currently occasionally resurfacing”. Thus, to achieve lasting peace, a “regional and multilateral approach” is necessary, capable of guaranteeing the disarmament of Hamas and the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh peace plan, “maintaining respect for the ceasefire on both sides, with the ultimate goal of reaching the conclusion of the Israeli forces’ military occupation of the Gaza Strip and starting its reconstruction”. In this regard, the Palestinian National Authority, as Mattarella told Abu Mazen directly in recent days, remains “a fundamental interlocutor for Italy and the international community” and “recognition and implementation of the ‘two peoples, two states’ solution” remains the only possible solution. Even in South Lebanon, the security framework “continues to be fragile” also due to “unacceptable repetition of attacks by Israel against the UNIFIL contingent, currently led by Italy” and remains “unavoidable” to guarantee the security of the Blue Line.
The CSD then handles the Sahel, Sudan, Balkan and Mediterranean files. However, the final part of the meeting was dedicated to “serious risks” stemming from “combined threats emanating from Russia and hostile foreign actors”: a challenge, as defined, “complex to the security of Europe and Italy as well as the integrity of the democratic process”. The resulting picture of the manipulation of cognitive space is alarming, “through disinformation campaigns, interference in democratic processes, the construction of polarizing narratives and the exploitation of digital platforms to undermine trust in institutions and undermine social cohesion”. This is also accompanied by cyber operations “that can target critical infrastructure, healthcare networks, financial systems, and logistics platforms, with the aim of causing disruption, delays, friction, and systemic distrust.” Therefore, the Council also shares the need “to maintain high vigilance in the protection of critical national infrastructure, in defense against cyber attacks and in the cognitive dimension”. The combination of these threats, and the awareness of Mattarella, Meloni and the ministers, “represents a challenge that we must respond to with the necessary timeliness and capabilities, also through the definition of new tools”.
