Italy: Russia is moving its troops from Syria to Libya

According to RCO News Agency, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosto said: Moscow is transferring resources from its Tartus base in Syria to Libya. This is not good. Russian ships and submarines in the Mediterranean are always a concern. It is even more alarming when they are only two steps away from us instead of a thousand kilometers.

In a conversation with the Italian newspaper “La Repubblica”, Crosto noted that due to the recent escalation of Russian attacks in Ukraine, he does not see favorable conditions for a ceasefire in this war, which began in February 2022.

He noted: I see that Russia intends to consolidate its position in the field.

Asked whether Italy would play a role in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine or elsewhere, Crosto said: “Italian forces have always been ready for peacekeeping missions. If a multinational force is needed, we will be part of it. “We are ready for Ukraine as we were in Lebanon and Gaza.”

He noted that such a mission on the border of Ukraine will not include European forces, because the parties may not accept the European mission, but it should consist of UN forces.

He emphasized: We will be happy to participate in this field if requested.

NATO defense spending

Crosto also pointed to the US expectation of NATO countries to allocate at least 2% of their GDP to defense spending, noting that this issue has been raised since Barack Obama’s presidency and that US President-elect Donald Trump is likely to follow suit. It will be more emphasized.

“We are currently at 1.57 percent,” Crosto said, explaining that all NATO countries have targeted defense spending levels between 2.5 percent and 3 percent. While not as much as I had hoped, we have increased our spending. However, we need to reach 2%. Not because NATO is asking for it, but because we have to be ready.

He added: The elected president of the United States will demand that we reach at least 2.5 percent at the NATO summit in July 2025. I am worried that the US president will threaten to withdraw from NATO, but I am not sure that will happen. Instead, I think he’ll say something like, “Anyone who doesn’t comply with increased military spending is out of NATO.”

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