The curtain falls on the G7 ministerial meeting in Capri. The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, “ recorded a great unity of intention and a great convergence on the most important international questions. from the Middle East to the Red Sea through the situation in Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific”, declared Antonio Tajani during the closing conference of the summit. “We have also decided – continues the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs – to guarantee that our collaboration is permanent and that there is constant contact day after day between ministries for an exchange of information and increasingly common choices on major international issues, including disinformation. the final statement of the meeting of foreign ministers, the war in the Middle East and the call to prevent further escalation: “In light of the information on the raids of April 19, we call on all parties to work to prevent an escalation. The G7 will continue to work in this direction. We call on all parties, both in the region and beyond, to offer their contribution to this effort”, we read in the document which also underlines “l. opposition to a large-scale military operation in Rafah, which would have catastrophic consequences for the civilian population. . For Gaza, “we reiterated our no to the Israeli military offensive in Rafah and that our objective is to have two states and two peoples,” Tajani reiterated.
“Ready for new sanctions against Iran”
The attack on Iran attributed to Israel today, Friday April 19, was also the focus of the opening of the last day of the summit. The foreign ministers reiterated their invitation to Tel Aviv and Tehran not to react. Next, the message to Iran: “We demand that Iran and its affiliated groups cease their attacks. We will hold the Iranian government accountable for its harmful and destabilizing actions and will be prepared to take additional sanctions or other measures, immediately and in response to further destabilizing initiatives. » In a passage dedicated to Ukraine, the Seven reiterated that “should Iran proceed to supply ballistic missiles or related technologies to Russia, we are ready to respond in a rapid and coordinated manner, including through new and significant measures.
“Italy will do everything possible for the air protection of Ukraine”
The Seven will also continue to “support Ukraine’s right to self-defense and reaffirm our commitment to long-term security,” they write in the final document. “We are intensifying our defense and security assistance to Ukraine and increasing our production and delivery capacities – they continue -. We support efforts to help Ukraine build a future force capable of self-defense and deterrence. We express our determination in particular to strengthen air defense capabilities to save human lives and protect critical infrastructure. » And again: “We support Ukraine in obtaining compensation for losses, injuries and damage resulting from Russian aggression.”
While Moscow's sovereign assets “immobilized” in the seven countries will remain “until its aggression ceases and it pays for the damage caused.” We welcome the adoption by the EU of legal acts regarding extraordinary income held by private entities and derived directly from Russian sovereign assets, also with a view to exploring ways to maximize profits for Ukraine – emphasize- they -. We will continue our work ahead of the Puglia Summit on possible viable options through which stranded Russian sovereign assets could be used to support Ukraine, in accordance with our respective legal systems and international law. And on the delivery of Italian weapons to kyiv, Tajani finally confirmed “what the Prime Minister said, also in the light of my conversation with Minister Crosetto in the presence of Ukrainian Minister Kuleba.” In other words: “We will do everything possible for the air protection of Ukraine, let's see what can be done,” said the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, responding to a question about kyiv's request regarding Samp-t.
“Moscow responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny”
Foreign ministers also condemned Moscow for the murder of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. “We will not stop holding those responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny to account, including by continuing to impose restrictive measures and other appropriate actions in response to human rights violations and abuses in Russia. We condemn the Kremlin's systematic repression of dissenting voices and call on Russia to release all political prisoners,” the final statement read.