Tajani: 'We ask the UN for an Olympic truce for Milan-Cortina'

MILAN - Italy proposes an Olympic truce for wars. This was said yesterday by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, during his opening speech at the 12th Italy-Latin America and Caribbean Conference underway in Rome. The minister announced that, with a view in particular to the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy will call for an 'Olympic truce' for all ongoing conflicts. The Winter Olympics will start in February next year, a date by which international diplomacy will in any case aim to find more stable solutions. But in the absence of peace, the minister anticipates that he will call for a stop to the war 'for both the Middle East and Ukraine'. A truce that would unfortunately only last two weeks. Moreover, it is a symbolic gesture, since truces are generally not respected: history is full of conflicts that have been ignored despite such demands. Despite this, the UN reaffirms the principle of peace during the Games. Minister Tajani reaffirmed this yesterday. He will present a preliminary text in New York to the UN and then negotiations will start, already scheduled for 16 and 23 October. 'We hope that countries will be able to follow this initiative'. As for the other side of sports-related diplomatic initiatives, namely the exclusion of countries at war, it should be remembered that Russia did not participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Or rather: the athletes took part as independent athletes, without their flag and anthem. The same thing will happen during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina. Fifa also took the same steps for the World Cup. There is now talk of Russia's possible readmission to the 2028 Summer Olympics. As far as Israel is concerned, neither the IOC nor FIFA have yet spoken, despite doubts and reflections. In a week's time, they will start from here: at least the request for an Olympic truce, albeit only in four months' time. In the meantime, speaking of the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, yesterday was the day of inspections at one of the most important venues for the competitions, the Fiera di Milano, in Rho, where work is being completed on the construction of an Oval for speed skating, one of the most evocative events of the event. An area for women's hockey will also be set up next to it. The works are progressing well, just over 100 days before the Games, and this brings a sigh of relief to the city of Milan. The Fiera Milano Foundation, owner of the structure, has invested 25 million, creating an area that can then be used for other events, managed by the subsidiary Fiera Milano spa. This is where Sports Minister Andrea Abodi went yesterday for an inspection, accompanied by Giovanni Bozzetti, president of Fondazione Fiera Milano. The facility will host approximately 7500 spectators. Next week there will be the laying of the first ice. "Here in a little over a month there will be a very important test event, so we will have to respect the schedule," said the minister. Yesterday, the other works being completed in Milan were mentioned: the Olympic Village, which has practically been delivered; the Pala Italia, in the Santa Giulia district, for which there is still much work to be done. On the question of the extra costs to be paid to both structures, Abodi said that 'more or less we have defined everything and we will make sure that within the perimeter of the financial bill everything will settle definitively'. No less important is the security issue, with the risk of protests looming over the Games due to the participation of Israeli athletes. The minister recalled that there is a security committee that is meeting and "which then determines the coordination of the Ministry of the Interior with the Ministry of Defence and all the domestic and international intelligence realities that will cooperate with their counterparts in other countries".
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