President Meloni’s press statement with Prime Minister Mikati

I thank Prime Minister Mikati, my friend Najib, for his warm welcome and our always useful exchange of views.

I want to say that I am proud of being the first Head of Government to visit Lebanon since the beginning of the military escalation, and the only one who visited twice since October 7 last year. My presence here today is first of all an expression of solidarity and closeness to civilians from all sides who are suffering from the consequences of the conflict.

As you know, Italy, together with other international partners, has been calling for a 21-day ceasefire for weeks now. And I want to thank the Prime Minister, as well as Speaker Berri whom I’ll meet later today, for having accepted this proposal. It is very, very important for us.

I came from Brussels, where I attended the European Council and obviously the crisis in the Middle East was at the core of our works, and I can assure you that we are all working for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza and here in Lebanon. We are supporting negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages from the hands of Hamas, and we are all striving to find the best ways to assist the civilian populations hit by this war. Italy is also at the forefront of the initiatives to mitigate the humanitarian crises. In Gaza, with our initiative “Food for Gaza” we brought more than 47 tonnes of food items, and in Lebanon, right after the military escalation, we approved new and immediate humanitarian assistance worth 17 million euros, aimed in particular to support the people displaced from their homes and the communities that are hosting them.

But I am also here in Lebanon to thank all the soldiers deployed with UNIFIL and with the Italian bilateral mission MIBIL. These soldiers have contributed for years to the stability of the border between Lebanon and Israel, and they will be needed in any post-conflict scenario.

This is why I repeat that I consider targeting UNIFIL unacceptable and I ask once again that all parties strive to ensure at all times that the safety of each of these soldiers is guaranteed.

This is also why I am convinced that UNIFIL must be strengthened. Only by strengthening UNIFIL – while maintaining its impartiality – will we be able to turn the page, and I think that we have to come back to the initial mission of UNIFIL and to do it properly in coordination with LAF.

I am also convinced that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) must be put in the best conditions to be able to assume their responsibilities. The goal is to increase the overall capabilities of the Lebanese Security Forces by strengthening the current training and education programmes in agreement with the Lebanese authorities.

I discussed all these topics with Prime Minister Mikati and I agree with him on the need for a full and actual implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701. This also means that south of the river Litani there must be no other military presence than that of UNIFIL and the LAF.  

As Italy, we also have a bilateral mission (MIBIL) –  that is part of the International Support Group for Lebanon- aimed precisely at strengthening the training of Lebanese military personnel. We will try to do more on this. It is not by chance that in the framework of the G7 Defence that is taking place today in Italy we convened a meeting with all the participants to reflect on how to best implement these tasks together.

In such a complex and uncertain scenario as the one we are living in, I also believe that it is crucial to support Lebanese institutions, including in the process to strengthen them. I am not the kind of leader who wants to tell others what they should do, but this Nation is suffering, and having functional institutions is key to being able to defend its interests. It is a reflection that I believe is shared by the whole leadership of this Nation, and what I can assure is that Italy is ready to give all the help that might be needed, if requested, also on this front.

I also discussed in-depth with Prime Minister Mikati the dramatic situation of the internally displaced people and we also covered the refugee crisis that has been affecting Lebanon for so long. We have estimates of more than one million displaced people in Lebanon on top of one million and a half Syrian refugees. Regarding the displaced people, as I said before, Italy is committed to bringing this topic to the European and international level to give our hand. As for the refugees’ issue, Italy has been engaged on this topic for a long time, and we are working with our European partners to create the conditions needed to allow the return of refugees to Syria. A return that obviously needs to be voluntary, safe, sustainable and dignified. We support to this end the efforts by the UNHCR, and to the same end we strengthened the Italian diplomatic presence in Damascus.

To conclude, dear Prime Minister, you know you can always count on Italy. We will do all that is in our power to return peace and prosperity to this friend-Nation.