NATO Southern Front to Spain, Crosetto: "Stoltenberg's Affront to Italy"

NATO Southern Front to Spain, Crosetto: “Stoltenberg’s Affront to Italy”

The assignment of the role of envoy for the Southern Front of NATO to Spain “I consider it almost a personal affront, a deep disappointment”. This is the comment of the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, who explained that he wrote to the Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg “a very harsh message”.

“It made me furious and there will be consequences on personal relations,” he said in an interview with La Stampa, claiming that “his was the betrayal of a principle: it was Italy that fought to introduce the role of envoy for the Southern Front. Stoltenberg didn’t want it. He had to put it in the resolution because Italy wanted it and so he took revenge.” Italy does not have a problem with NATO, Crosetto said, “it has a problem with Stoltenberg. He is the only one responsible, perhaps because he is guided by the logic of political affiliation, failing in the first of his responsibilities: to be super partes.”

In the interview, Crosetto also addressed the issue of reaching the 2% of military spending, as required by the commitments made with the Alliance. “It is a topic that is closely linked to the next European Commission. We will have to fight to separate Defense spending from the Stability Pact. The important thing at this time is to start and those who judge investments in Defense to be wrong, it means they think that Italy should not defend itself, but put itself in the hands of others”, he said.

Regarding the possible implications of Donald Trump’s election to the US presidency, Crosetto pointed out the possibility of a “change in the American position” regarding the war in Ukraine. “I believe that Trump will change his line, he will try to obtain peace by resuming a personal dialogue with Putin to close quickly and this could be a problem”.

For the Minister of Defense “the rules that States must deal with are important. If international law is set aside, the law of the strongest prevails. This applies to Ukraine as well as to Israel. In the face of territories occupied by tanks, you cannot end the war by crystallizing the borders to quickly archive the problem. It would be an easy way to find peace, but justice is another thing. And with Trump, not only this would change”.