Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio discussed a number of issues facing the Mediterranean region with Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi in Rome.
According to Italian news agency, AKI, Di Maio affirmed his commitment to support the Libyan political transition process by achieving two priorities: the 24 December elections, and the withdrawal of all mercenaries and foreign fighters.
Notably, former Italian Interior Minister, Marco Minniti stated that, “if we do not act urgently, it will be difficult to hold elections in Libya on 24 December.”
He discussed the Italian-Libyan memorandum on migrants and the return of flows, as well as the role that the European Union has to play in the Mediterranean region.
In an interview published by the German newspaper Die Welt, Minniti said that, “while the Europeans are divided in Brussels, Turkey and Russia have arrived in Libya. This is an unimaginable historical geopolitical change. If someone told me in 2017 that the Turks and the Russians would arrive in Libya, I wouldn’t believe him.”
“In Europe, we often focus on the east and its challenges. But Russia and Turkey, both of which are eastern powers, are now present in Libya and Syria,” he added.
Minniti noted that the EU must realize that balances in the Mediterranean are changing. He explained that the problem is that Europe has not yet fully internalized that the expanded central Mediterranean will be of critical importance to its future.
The former Italian minister noted that the way forward for Europe is, first and foremost, to propose a charter for migration and economic development with Tunisia and Libya. At the same time, it is important to invite Libya and Tunisia to intensify the war against human traffickers.
The former Italian minister warned that, “If the elections do not take place, the risks of escalating the frequencies again are very great, as there is the possibility of dividing Libya into Turkish and Russian spheres of influence. It is the Syrian model. It would be a heavy defeat for Europe and (like) another Afghanistan.”