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Italy’s PM to Visit Lebanon, Says UN Mission Should Not Be Withdrawn

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers a speech during a session of communications to the Senate ahead of the European Council, at the Senate in Rome, Italy, 15 October 2024. EPA/VINCENZO LIVIERI
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers a speech during a session of communications to the Senate ahead of the European Council, at the Senate in Rome, Italy, 15 October 2024. EPA/VINCENZO LIVIERI
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Italy’s PM to Visit Lebanon, Says UN Mission Should Not Be Withdrawn

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers a speech during a session of communications to the Senate ahead of the European Council, at the Senate in Rome, Italy, 15 October 2024. EPA/VINCENZO LIVIERI
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivers a speech during a session of communications to the Senate ahead of the European Council, at the Senate in Rome, Italy, 15 October 2024. EPA/VINCENZO LIVIERI

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday she plans to visit Lebanon on Oct. 18, just days after Israeli forces attacked UN bases in the country, drawing anger from many EU capitals, including Rome.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel -- an area that has seen serious clashes this month between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.

Israel has demanded the withdrawal of the UNIFIL forces, which include just over 1,000 Italian troops, but contributor nations have refused and angrily denounced repeated Israeli strikes against the bases that have injured some peacekeepers.

"We believe that the attitude of the Israeli forces is completely unjustified," Meloni told the upper house of parliament, describing it as a "blatant violation" of a UN resolution that mandated the Lebanese mission.

In a later speech to the lower house, she said: "I believe that a withdrawal on the basis of a unilateral request by Israel would be a big mistake. It would undermine the credibility of the mission itself, the credibility of the United Nations."

Her decision to travel to Lebanon, despite daily attacks on the country by Israel, highlights Italy's determination to support the UN operation and underscores Rome's anger with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the issue.

Meloni's government has been one of the most vocal supporters of Israel over the past year as it battled regional enemies following the Oct. 7 Hamas assault out of Gaza.

"I understand Israel's reasons for needing to prevent what happened last October 7 from happening again, but that obviously does not mean I agree with all its choices." Meloni said.

Since the start of Israel's ground operation in Lebanon on Oct. 1, UNIFIL positions have been targeted 20 times, including by direct fire and an incident on Sunday when two Israeli tanks burst through the gates of a UNIFIL base, the UN has said.

Netanyahu has denied that Israeli troops deliberately struck at UNIFIL peacekeepers.

Italy has formally protested to Israel and joined allies in condemning the attacks on the mission.

Meloni said Hezbollah had also violated the UN resolution and sought "to militarize the area under UNIFIL's jurisdiction", adding that Italy wanted to strengthen the capabilities of UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces.

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.