NATO Secretary General hails Italy contributions to Euro-Atlantic security and support to Ukraine
Rome: Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Italy on Tuesday, where he met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella.
He underscored the importance of continuing to strengthen deterrence and defence, and step up support to Ukraine.
“Keeping our one billion people safe is NATO’s most sacred duty, and that is why we are ramping up our defence industrial capacity,” the Secretary General said, adding that “we need to go further and faster, for our own deterrence and to support Ukraine.”
The Secretary General underlined that Italy is “a staunch and reliable Ally, contributing in many ways to Euro-Atlantic security.” He highlighted Italy’s lead of NATO’s new battlegroup in Bulgaria, its contributions to NATO’s deployments in Hungary and Latvia, and the deployment of Italy’s jets to protect Allied airspace and ships to keep crucial seaways open. “Italy is once again leading our peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, helping to foster stability in the Western Balkans,” he added.
The Secretary General thanked Prime Minister Meloni “for being such a strong supporter of Ukraine.” He underscored that Allies and partners “will continue to stand by Ukraine, because Ukraine’s fight is our fight,” and welcomed Italy’s strong support for the action plan adopted at the Washington Summit for a stronger, more strategic and results-oriented approach towards NATO’s southern neighbourhood.
During his visit, Secretary General Rutte also visited the Italian facilities of the defence manufacturing group Rheinmetall.
