Tajani expressed to the Corriere della Sera newspaper that “talks between Lebanese, Israeli, and American mediators will be held in Rome on Tuesday.”
“Rome is becoming the capital of peace in the Middle East,” the Foreign Minister stated, referring to the continuation of a new phase of dialogue in the Italian capital, following the signing on June 26 of a framework agreement to end the Tel Aviv attacks.
In another part of the interview, the Italian minister referred to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is scheduled to begin withdrawing from the country by the end of this year, and reaffirmed that, together with France, a new international military deployment in Lebanon is proposed “to continue protecting the area.”
UNIFIL’s official mandate will conclude on December 31, 2026, when a gradual reduction process will begin, leading to its eventual disbandment throughout 2027. Among the proposals to replace it are strengthening the Lebanese army and a new mission mandated by the European Union or the UN.
In recent statements to the newspaper La Stampa, the Italian Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, asserted that a United Nations mission with a reinforced mandate would allow for “the inspection of sensitive areas, the seizure of illegal arms caches, and the prevention of their reconstitution” for the purpose of “peace enforcement.”
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