Disagreements in the majority, Crosetto's mission to the US to buy arms in Kiev is cancelled
Salvini against arms procurement. The Purl programme, an acronym for 'Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List', run by the Atlantic Alliance, was created at the urging of the United States. The aim is to push NATO member states to buy weapons and military equipment, preferably from the US, and then send them to Ukraine, so as to put it in a position to repel Russia's advance. Italy has not yet joined
Key points
The visit to the United States by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, which was to have been held next Thursday and Friday, 13 and 14 November, with a meeting at the US Department of Defence with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, has been cancelled. The news, anticipated by Repubblica, was confirmed by informed sources. On Friday, the minister will be in Berlin for the E5, the European Defence Summit uniting five nations: Italy, France, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom.Based on the decision to postpone the meeting to a more opportune moment, there would be the divergences within the majority on how to guarantee support for Ukraine, committed to containing the Russian advance. And in particular on the advisability of buying weapons, including from the Americans, to then turn over to Kiev.
In fact, the Purl programme, an acronym for 'Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List', run by the Atlantic Alliance, was created at the urging of the United States. The aim is to push NATO member states to buy weapons and military equipment, preferably from the US, and then send them to Ukraine, so as to put it in a position to repel Russia's advance. Some countries have already joined the plan. These include Germany and Spain. Italy has not yet joined, and Friday's meeting could have led to a green light.
But the words of the deputy premier and leader of the Lega Matteo Salvini, pronounced in Bari, on the sidelines of an initiative promoted by his party in view of the regional elections ("the more weapons we produce and send the more the war goes on, then Zelensky and Putin will decide what they will do. As Minister of Infrastructure, I can't wait to bring Italian companies to Ukraine for reconstruction. But I can rebuild when they stop shooting at each other'), convinced both Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Fdi minister of the face-to-face meeting with Hegseth. Interlocution with the American administration, is the reasoning, cannot be separated from a single position within the government on this point. Hence the decision, anticipated by repubblica, to blow up the trip to the US, also because the American embassy in Rome would have reported the words of the Lega Nord leader to the White House. On Friday, Crosetto will be in Berlin to take part in the E-5 format together with the defence chiefs of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland.
The training of future Palestinian agents by the Carabinieri
As far as theGaza Strip is concerned, one of the topics to be discussed with the Americans is the training of future Palestinian officers by the Carabinieri. But also of the possible intervention of mine-clearers and the support of medical personnel. As far as the Palestinian agents are concerned, Italy is willing to send 200 Carabinieri to train them, but when the security conditions are right. The willingness has been accepted by the United States. At the moment, it is not excluded that the training activities of the future Gaza police force could take place on the peninsula. Crosetto clarified that our military will not work on 'training' activities in the Strip. "There is a limit that we must not cross and that is the security of our military," he said. "We are willing to provide carabiniers to train the future Palestinian forces when it is all over. We will not do it in Gaza nor in Rafah but in an external location to ensure the security of our personnel,' explained the number one of the Army Palace. For this reason, the Major State of Italian Defence is conducting a study in order to identify the most suitable place to train the police forces of the new Gaza.
The options
All options remain on the table: at the moment, the assessment is that should the tense situation in Jericho continue - where a nucleus of instructors of the Force has already operated in the bilateral mission "Miadit Palestine" - the hypothesis of training the agents in Jordan or in Egypt would be opened. Italy - where the risk is zero - is also a possibility being considered, given the numerous experiences gained by the Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units (Coespu). The Carabinieri structure, based in Vicenza, trains police units deployed in peacekeeping operations on our territory through methods already tested with other foreign forces (in particular African countries, but also Ukrainian specialised forces) and based on the model tested by the Carabinieri during various missions abroad.
