Italian Defence Minister expresses optimism ahead of NATO summit in Ankara

Rome, July 5 (IANS) Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto on Sunday expressed optimism regarding the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit in Ankara.

“Ankara (Summit) has been built so that everything works, commitments will be respected and each country presents itself having done its part,” Crosetto said, via video, at the ‘Pantelleria Mediterraneo d’Autore’, emphasising that he sees no critical issues compared to the previous summit. “Then we will see what (US President Donald) Trump will do; it will be a very short summit,” he added.

On transatlantic relations, Crosetto reiterated that “real relations with the US are excellent, like those a year ago, or 5 years ago”, noting that dialogue with Washington takes place steadily at an institutional level. “Trump has his way of doing politics, of pressing allies,” he said, adding “it’s his way of acting so that allies react,” Italian news agency Adnkronos reported.

On the topic of defence, Crosetto ruled out conflicts with social spending. “I have never thought that defence spending should be an alternative to healthcare, culture, and welfare. Without defence, there is no security and no social spending,” he stated, emphasising the importance of alliances.

Regarding international scenarios, Crosetto said that the competition between great powers will be primarily technological and will concern raw materials, rare earths, and energy. “In this framework – he added – Italy, Germany, and Japan are three nations that emerged defeated from the Second World War and whose Constitutions were written to prevent them from waging wars”. For this reason, he explained, “none of our three nations can declare war as other countries can”, but must operate within alliances or international mandates.

Regarding the controversies related to US flights from Italian bases, the minister spoke of “controversies we could have avoided”, stressing that “when it was necessary to say no, this government did so.” According to Crosetto, such discussions risk being perceived negatively by the United States and do not help bilateral relations.

–IANS

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