Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio held a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on a number of current issues for the Alliance.
Di Maio stressed the importance of NATO’s ‘Sea Guardian’ operation in the Mediterranean, hoping for a collaboration with the EU’s operation ‘IRINI’.
In reference to the situation in the eastern Mediterranean, he highlighted the need to maintain internal cohesion in the Alliance. He emphasized the need to facilitate dialogue between states to promote de-escalation of tensions in the area.
Operation ‘IRINI’ is a naval operation launched by the European Union to monitor the UN arms embargo on Libya. The operation has a series of secondary tasks, such as the prevention of illicit oil exports, capacity building and training of the Libyan coast guard, and supporting the fight against human trafficking and their networks.
The Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez Al-Sarraj rejected the operation due to ‘IRINI’ taking place only at sea. He argued that it failed to monitor Libya’s air and land borders, where he claims the majority of the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) arms come through.