Defense ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy democracies kicked off their meeting on Saturday with host country Italy warning the global security framework is growing increasingly precarious due to competing visions of the world.
The EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell appealed for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and the freeing of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, saying Israel’s killing of its leader, Yahya Sinawar, should be seized as an opportunity for the cessation of hostilities.
Borrell also urged respect for the UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, which were recently targeted by Israel.
He told reporters the morning session mainly focused on the Middle East, and said the UN mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, could be reviewed but it would be up to the UN Security Council to make decisions on its future.
"Some of the members of this (G7) meeting are important members of the Security Council too," Borrell said.
Italy is a major contributor to UNIFIL which is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel. Israeli attacks have angered Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who visited Lebanon and Jordan on Friday.
The G7 gathering marks the group's first ministerial meeting dedicated to defense and comes a few days after Israeli forces killed Sinwar, whose death some Western leaders said raised the chances of an end to the conflict in Gaza.
Italy holds the G7 rotating presidency for 2024 as the West also grapples with the Russian advance in Ukraine and China's military activities around Taiwan, as well as heightened tensions along the border of North and South Korea.
"The brutal Russian aggressions in Ukraine and the indeed critical situation in Middle East, combined with the profound instability of sub-Saharan Africa and the increasing tension in the Indo-Pacific region, highlight a deteriorated security framework," Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in his opening speech.
Italian officials said Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had joined colleagues in the southern Italian city of Naples, where a discussion on developments in his country is expected.
Warning that near term forecasts for global security "cannot be positive", Crosetto - a prominent member of Prime Minister Meloni's Brothers of Italy party - said tensions were fueled by a confrontation between "two different, perhaps incompatible visions of the world."
On the one side are the countries and organizations that believe in a world order based on international law, Crosetto said, while "on the other side, (there are) those who systematically disrespect democracy to pursue their objectives, including by a deliberate use of military force."
Before the meeting, Crosetto welcomed photographers holding a model of a tiny red animal horn, a symbol of good luck according to time-honored Neapolitan tradition.
Besides Italy, the G7 includes the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Japan, with European Union and NATO representatives also attending the gathering in the southern Italian city.
