(Adnkronos) – Italy “is taking the necessary steps” to protect national security after the arrests this week of two former members of the country’s intelligence services for allegedly passing classified information to a Russian agent, foreign minister Antonio Tajani told Nato colleagues at a two-day summit in Ankara through Wednesday.
“We are preparing to take the necessary steps to defend our security: this is yet another sign of the threat that continues to emanate from Russia toward our institutions, our security, our businesses, and our industrial sector,” Tajani said, according to a foreign ministry statement.
Italy “strongly opposes this interference and will continue do so without hesitation and together with all of its Nato allies,” Tajani underlined, briefing his colleagues the security operation in which Italy’s intelligence services and its Carabinieri paramilitary police identified several Russian agents operating in Italy.
“I shared information on this case (which also allegedly includes unauthorised access to IT and telecoms services) because an attack on an allied country is an attack on all of us,” Tajani said.
Tajani briefed Nato foreign ministers on the alleged Russian espionage case during a series of meetings including with E5 countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom), Turkey and the European Union, which aimed to align positions on issues around Europe’s security architecture, with a focus on Ukraine and the Middle East.
Regarding support for Kiev, a coordinated Euro-Atlantic approach is essential, with support for proposals aimed at facilitating direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia, as well as “active participation” by the United States and Europe, Tajani said.
Tajani thanked Turkey “for strongly focussing attention” at the Ankara summit on Nato’s southern flank and underlined the importance US-Iran dialogue and the implementation of this month’s shaky Israel-Lebanon peace deal backed by US president Donald Trump.
Africa and the security challenges posed by migration, terrorism and trafficking must also also stay on Nato’s radar, Tajani concluded.
