Afghanistan and Italian personnel in evacuation, “in the next few hours the last Italian C-130 will depart from Kabul on board both the consul Claudi, the ambassador Pontecorvo and the soldiers and carabinieri who contributed to the evacuation operations”. This was stated by the Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, during a joint press point at the Farnesina with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. The head of the Farnesina then explained that in recent days, thanks also to coordination with the Ministry of Defense, “all the Italians who wanted to return and about 4,900 Afghan citizens” have been evacuated from Afghanistan.
An “extraordinary G20 summit” on the crisis in Afghanistan “would make it possible to strengthen international coordination” on the five priorities indicated by the Italian government, he later explained. According to Di Maio, “heavy uncertainties weigh on the future” of Afghanistan and the G20 can represent a “fundamental platform” to favor “responsible management” of the crisis.
“With Minister Lavrov we reaffirmed our willingness to dialogue and collaborate in this extremely delicate phase on the international agenda”. This was stated by the Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, during a joint press point at the Farnesina with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
“In a context that can only arouse deep concern, Moscow is a key player in managing the current crisis situation and, in perspective, in reaching an international humanitarian approach”, he declared.
“We should ensure that the country does not go back to being a safe haven for terrorism and agree at an international level on a strategy to manage the migratory impact” from Afghanistan and in Lavrov I stressed the “importance of reaching a unified international approach because only global action could be effective against the new authorities in Kabul “. Di Maio then explained
Italy has assured Russia that in the G20 dedicated to Afghanistan, “if this initiative is implemented”, Pakistan, Iran and other countries directly interested in the crisis but which are not part of the group will also be invited, said the minister of Russian foreign, Sergei Lavrov. Russia stressed “the need for an inclusive format”.
“We have obtained the support and the promise of Italian colleagues that these countries will also be invited if this initiative is carried out,” said Lavrov, underlining that “Russia’s priority is the security of our allies, the states south of Russia, which they are exposed to the danger of open borders “.
“Russia is ready to respect the agreements that the United States has reached with the Taliban”, the Russian continued, specifying that “it is now necessary to better understand what role our partners see for Russia in the G20”. Russia has maintained dialogue with the representatives of the Taliban, it is not only their responsibility (for what is happening, ed) “, he specified.
Draghi-Lavrov meeting
During this morning’s meeting at Palazzo Chigi, Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Minister Lavrov also spoke about the situation in Libya and in particular about the need to continue with the political dialogue promoted in Geneva by the United Nations also in view of the elections at the end of December and the need for a rapid withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.
The role of the various international fora, including the G20, in discussing the prospects for a solution to the crisis in Afghanistan was addressed during the meeting.