NATO chief talks defense with Italian prime minister in Rome

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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Italy on Tuesday, where he met with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella to discuss defense and support for Ukraine.

In July 2025, Italy will host the next conference on the reconstruction of the country ravaged by more than two years of conflict with Russia.

Since taking up his position a few months ago, Rutte has sought to strengthen Western support for Ukraine.

“On Ukraine, we are establishing a new command, NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, which will become fully operational in the coming months, and we are well on our way to fulfilling our pledge to provide Ukraine with €40 billion in military support by 2024. We will continue to stand by Ukraine because Ukraine’s fight is our fight,’ said the head of NATO.

Giorgia Meloni, for her part, calls for greater involvement of European countries in NATO.

“As you all know, we believe it is necessary that next to the North American pillar of the alliance there should be a European pillar. This is a vision we share with the new (NATO) Secretary General and we share that it is essential for all of us to work on a European defense industry that is innovative, competitive, where NATO and the EU can complement each other,” declared the head of the Italian government.

At a time when Ukrainian troops are in trouble, NATO countries are divided over the assistance to be given to Kiev. Italy, for example, opposes Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles against targets on Russian soil.

Germany is not in favor either. During their meeting in Berlin, the NATO chief and Olaf Scholz addressed another issue of concern: the involvement of the United States in the Alliance in the event of Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.