Viavai di ministri italiani a Washington in questi giorni, tra Alfano Frattini e La Russa, il Presidente Napolitano ha lasciato da poco New York, gran ribollire di iniziative..
CaioDecimo
Trova superficiale domandarsi se i governi di quegli Stati arabi, in primavera, saranno gli stessi? «Credo si debbano sostenere con forza i governi di quei Paesi, dal Marocco all' Egitto, nei quali ci sono re o capi di Stato che hanno costruito regimi laici tenendo alla larga il fondamentalismo. La priorità numero uno è la prevenzione del fondamentalismo e degli embrioni di terrorismo. L' uscita di Ben Ali ha rallentato le tensioni, è stata una decisione saggia. Adesso il processo deve continuare». Come, secondo lei? «Faccio l' esempio di Gheddafi. Ha realizzato una riforma che chiama "dei Congressi provinciali del popolo": distretto per distretto si riuniscono assemblee di tribù e potentati locali, discutono e avanzano richieste al governo e al leader. Cercando una via tra un sistema parlamentare, che non è quello che abbiamo in testa noi, e uno in cui lo sfogatoio della base popolare non esisteva, come in Tunisia. Ogni settimana Gheddafi va lì e ascolta. Per me sono segnali positivi».
Fratitini a Washington il 6 aprile, confermo. CaioDecimo
Incontro tra il Ministro degli Esteri Franco Frattini e il Segretario di Stato americano Hillary Clinton a Washington (disponibile solo in inglese)
06/04/2011
–
Trascrizione della conferenza stampa al termine dell'incontro tra il Ministro degli Esteri Franco Frattini e il Segretario di Stato americano Hillary Clinton a Washington DC (Dipartimento di Stato – 6 aprile 2011):
SEC. CLINTON: You're very popular, Franco.
MIN. FRATTINI: (Laughs.) Yes.
SEC. CLINTON: Look at this. Oh, my goodness! And I know why. Because he is a very — very good colleague and an excellent friend, not only of mine, but of the United States. And it's a pleasure to welcome him back once more to the State Department.
Franco and I consult frequently. We often are on the cell phone to one another. And usually I drop before he does, so we have to call back. (Laughter.)
But I'm very pleased that we could meet to discuss a number of very important and urgent issues. Obviously, we discussed at length the situation in Libya. As NATO allies and as members of the coalition of nations that responded jointly to the crisis in Libya, Italy and the United States have a shared stake in ensuring the security of the Libyan people. Italy has made critical contributions to that mission.
Italy was a strong voice in support of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973. Italian planes have flown missions to enforce those resolutions, while Italian ships and bases have provided valuable logistical support. And on the humanitarian front, Italy helped to evacuate foreign nationals quickly and safely, while also delivering 26 tons of aid, including food and medical supplies.
The foreign minister and I talked about the ongoing NATO mission. We will be meeting at the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Berlin next week. And we are very committed to staying in close consultation.
Now, there are so many issues that we have on our plate right now, but one that I want to mention is the number of immigrants that are coming to Italy. Italy has been dealing with this influx of immigrants, particularly from Tunisia, because we also share the goal of helping to provide stability and opportunity to the people of Tunisia. And they are also, as Egypt is, engaged in a very important transition.
So Italy is bearing more than its share of the responsibilities as we all do everything we can to assist the people of North Africa and the Middle East to fulfill their aspirations for a more democratic future with greater human rights and economic opportunity.
I want to express again the appreciation of the United States for the contributions that Italy has made to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Italy leads the NATO forces in western Afghanistan, where 4,000 Italian troops are stationed, most of them in Herat province. Thanks in large part to Italy's leadership, including the hard work of Italian police trainers, Herat city will be one of the first districts to transition to Afghan-led security in July.
Now, we will be in constant conversation, because Italy and the United States are close friends and trusted allies. We work on many issues, in addition to Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Afghanistan, and we're always grateful to our friends for their leadership and their solidarity in working together.
Thank you, Franco.
MIN. FRATTINI: Thank you.
Thank you very much, Hillary, for the very warm welcome. Thank you very much for acknowledging the Italian efforts and the Italian commitment towards working together with the allies, with the partners, first of all with United States.
Italy and the United States share values, objectives, political goals. We talked about Libya. We both shared the view that Libyan people deserves a better future, a future of liberty, a future of civil rights, and that Gadhafi should leave.
Unfortunately, we will not be in the position to, I would say, predict when. But what is absolutely necessary, we have to work together in order to guarantee a national process of political reconciliation, not including Mr. Gadhafi, in the future of Libya. It is a very clear political point.
We talked about our respective contacts with the CNT, the council of Benghazi. We talked about the perspective of reconstruction, helping reconstruction of Libya. We talked about what to do to encourage a political solution involving all international and regional players, including African Union. I informed Hillary about the visit of President Ping of African Union made yesterday to Rome, and a visit that Mr. Jalil, the president of CNT, will pay on Monday to president, to Italy, to Rome and that I will meet, of course, to talk about how to develop our cooperation.
We talked about Tunisia. We talked about North African countries. And again, we shared the point of view of United States, that we have to work together to launch a comprehensive economic plan of economic growth, relaunching development, creating new job opportunities in all the countries concerned to support the good outcome of the peaceful revolutions, particularly in Tunisia and in Egypt.
I think stability and democracy do not contradict each other. On the contrary, they can go hand in hand. The more democracy comes, the more development is stable. If there is no democracy, there is no stability. It is a fragile situation, where it's demonstrated by situation, where after decades non-democratic states have fallen because they were non-democratic.
So this is exactly something that has much to do with our common understanding and our common values: democracy, civil liberties and so on and so forth.
We will be cooperating very closely on Afghanistan, as Hillary said. Italy is helping reconstruction in the province of Herat, training Afghani forces. We will continue to contribute to the alliance, to NATO, to our partners' efforts.
Thanks very much, Hillary, for recognizing the efforts we've made on managing migration flows. It is a very important point you touched upon because we are asking for how to strike the right balance between dealing with human beings, with the first point.
These are not numbers, these are human beings. These are children, women, men, that are desperate, that try to escape from difficult situation. And on the other side, try balance between how to deal with human beings and how to share the burdens and the responsibilities among a number of European member states that should have the same interests. That's why we are, I would say, asking for more European involvement, more European commitment of managing together migration, which is not a Sicilian issue or an Italian issue, it is a truly European issue, is a very — very good point.
On all of these points, we will be having very close and continuous consultations, as we have done in the past. In spirit of frankness, we are in the condition to speak to each other practically whenever is necessary with great pleasure. And thank you once again, Hillary.
SEC. CLINTON: Thank you, Franco.
STAFF: First question goes to Jill Dougherty of CNN.
Q: Thank you. Secretary Clinton.
SEC. CLINTON: Hello.
Q: Hello. Speaking of Libya, we have this intriguing letter from Moammar Gadhafi going to President Obama urging him to stop the NATO bombing. How do you interpret that? I mean, could this be a sign that Gadhafi is ready to deal, ready to step down?
And then also, you have your representative there and he's meeting with the opposition. Is it time for the U.S. to recognize or fund the opposition?
If I could ask one quick one —
SEC. CLINTON: (Laughs.)
Q: I know this is our tradition — our tradition. Two days to go before the government could shut down. How is the State Department ready for this?
What can Americans expect from the State Department?
And Mr. Foreign Minister, you were talking about Libya. Are you urging Secretary Clinton to — the United States to recognize the opposition?
Thank you.
SEC. CLINTON: Franco, that's four or five questions. (Laughter.) So we — it — they try to test my memory. (Laughter.) So I'll see — I'll see whether I can.
First, with respect to the letter you referred to, I think that Mr. Gadhafi knows what he must do. There needs to be a cease-fire. His forces need to withdraw from the cities that they have forcibly taken at great violence and human cost. There needs to be a decision made about his departure from power and, as the foreign minister said, his departure from Libya.
So I don't think there is any mystery about what is expected from Mr. Gadhafi at this time. That is a — an international assessment. And the sooner that occurs and the bloodshed ends, the better it will be for everyone.
Secondly, our envoy, Chris Stevens, is in Benghazi. He is meeting with many different people. I want to publicly thank again the Italian government, which has been very helpful in assisting him to be there to and to meet those with whom he is meeting. And we will wait to hear more from him. He's obviously doing an assessment right now.
With respect to the question about the shutdown, obviously President Obama has made abundantly clear that the United States government, the Obama administration and, I believe, the American people do not want to see a government shutdown.
We are very hopeful that the Congress will reach the right decision, which is to agree on whatever cuts are necessary for the 2011 budget and go on with the business of the American …
Viavai di ministri italiani a Washington in questi giorni, tra Alfano Frattini e La Russa, il Presidente Napolitano ha lasciato da poco New York, gran ribollire di iniziative..
CaioDecimo
Nessun segno sull'agenda ufficiale del passaggio di Frattini a Washington in questi giorni. Mi devo essere sbagliato.
CaioDecimo
Trova superficiale domandarsi se i governi di quegli Stati arabi, in primavera, saranno gli stessi? «Credo si debbano sostenere con forza i governi di quei Paesi, dal Marocco all' Egitto, nei quali ci sono re o capi di Stato che hanno costruito regimi laici tenendo alla larga il fondamentalismo. La priorità numero uno è la prevenzione del fondamentalismo e degli embrioni di terrorismo. L' uscita di Ben Ali ha rallentato le tensioni, è stata una decisione saggia. Adesso il processo deve continuare». Come, secondo lei? «Faccio l' esempio di Gheddafi. Ha realizzato una riforma che chiama "dei Congressi provinciali del popolo": distretto per distretto si riuniscono assemblee di tribù e potentati locali, discutono e avanzano richieste al governo e al leader. Cercando una via tra un sistema parlamentare, che non è quello che abbiamo in testa noi, e uno in cui lo sfogatoio della base popolare non esisteva, come in Tunisia. Ogni settimana Gheddafi va lì e ascolta. Per me sono segnali positivi».
http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2011/gennaio/17/Arginare_fondamentalismo_questa_priorita_dell_co_8_110117013.shtml
L'ambasciatore italiano a Washington sulla crisi libica (Cleveland 7 aprile)
http://www.youtube.com/user/CleveWorldAffairs%20%20
e lo stesso ambasciatore sullo stesso argomento da NY http://www.ambwashingtondc.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Washington/Archivio_News/20110413BrooklynCollege.htm
CaioDecimo
Fratitini a Washington il 6 aprile, confermo. CaioDecimo
Incontro tra il Ministro degli Esteri Franco Frattini e il Segretario di Stato americano Hillary Clinton a Washington (disponibile solo in inglese)
06/04/2011
–
Trascrizione della conferenza stampa al termine dell'incontro tra il Ministro degli Esteri Franco Frattini e il Segretario di Stato americano Hillary Clinton a Washington DC (Dipartimento di Stato – 6 aprile 2011):
SEC. CLINTON: You're very popular, Franco.
MIN. FRATTINI: (Laughs.) Yes.
SEC. CLINTON: Look at this. Oh, my goodness! And I know why. Because he is a very — very good colleague and an excellent friend, not only of mine, but of the United States. And it's a pleasure to welcome him back once more to the State Department.
Franco and I consult frequently. We often are on the cell phone to one another. And usually I drop before he does, so we have to call back. (Laughter.)
But I'm very pleased that we could meet to discuss a number of very important and urgent issues. Obviously, we discussed at length the situation in Libya. As NATO allies and as members of the coalition of nations that responded jointly to the crisis in Libya, Italy and the United States have a shared stake in ensuring the security of the Libyan people. Italy has made critical contributions to that mission.
Italy was a strong voice in support of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973. Italian planes have flown missions to enforce those resolutions, while Italian ships and bases have provided valuable logistical support. And on the humanitarian front, Italy helped to evacuate foreign nationals quickly and safely, while also delivering 26 tons of aid, including food and medical supplies.
The foreign minister and I talked about the ongoing NATO mission. We will be meeting at the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Berlin next week. And we are very committed to staying in close consultation.
Now, there are so many issues that we have on our plate right now, but one that I want to mention is the number of immigrants that are coming to Italy. Italy has been dealing with this influx of immigrants, particularly from Tunisia, because we also share the goal of helping to provide stability and opportunity to the people of Tunisia. And they are also, as Egypt is, engaged in a very important transition.
So Italy is bearing more than its share of the responsibilities as we all do everything we can to assist the people of North Africa and the Middle East to fulfill their aspirations for a more democratic future with greater human rights and economic opportunity.
I want to express again the appreciation of the United States for the contributions that Italy has made to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Italy leads the NATO forces in western Afghanistan, where 4,000 Italian troops are stationed, most of them in Herat province. Thanks in large part to Italy's leadership, including the hard work of Italian police trainers, Herat city will be one of the first districts to transition to Afghan-led security in July.
Now, we will be in constant conversation, because Italy and the United States are close friends and trusted allies. We work on many issues, in addition to Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Afghanistan, and we're always grateful to our friends for their leadership and their solidarity in working together.
Thank you, Franco.
MIN. FRATTINI: Thank you.
Thank you very much, Hillary, for the very warm welcome. Thank you very much for acknowledging the Italian efforts and the Italian commitment towards working together with the allies, with the partners, first of all with United States.
Italy and the United States share values, objectives, political goals. We talked about Libya. We both shared the view that Libyan people deserves a better future, a future of liberty, a future of civil rights, and that Gadhafi should leave.
Unfortunately, we will not be in the position to, I would say, predict when. But what is absolutely necessary, we have to work together in order to guarantee a national process of political reconciliation, not including Mr. Gadhafi, in the future of Libya. It is a very clear political point.
We talked about our respective contacts with the CNT, the council of Benghazi. We talked about the perspective of reconstruction, helping reconstruction of Libya. We talked about what to do to encourage a political solution involving all international and regional players, including African Union. I informed Hillary about the visit of President Ping of African Union made yesterday to Rome, and a visit that Mr. Jalil, the president of CNT, will pay on Monday to president, to Italy, to Rome and that I will meet, of course, to talk about how to develop our cooperation.
We talked about Tunisia. We talked about North African countries. And again, we shared the point of view of United States, that we have to work together to launch a comprehensive economic plan of economic growth, relaunching development, creating new job opportunities in all the countries concerned to support the good outcome of the peaceful revolutions, particularly in Tunisia and in Egypt.
I think stability and democracy do not contradict each other. On the contrary, they can go hand in hand. The more democracy comes, the more development is stable. If there is no democracy, there is no stability. It is a fragile situation, where it's demonstrated by situation, where after decades non-democratic states have fallen because they were non-democratic.
So this is exactly something that has much to do with our common understanding and our common values: democracy, civil liberties and so on and so forth.
We will be cooperating very closely on Afghanistan, as Hillary said. Italy is helping reconstruction in the province of Herat, training Afghani forces. We will continue to contribute to the alliance, to NATO, to our partners' efforts.
Thanks very much, Hillary, for recognizing the efforts we've made on managing migration flows. It is a very important point you touched upon because we are asking for how to strike the right balance between dealing with human beings, with the first point.
These are not numbers, these are human beings. These are children, women, men, that are desperate, that try to escape from difficult situation. And on the other side, try balance between how to deal with human beings and how to share the burdens and the responsibilities among a number of European member states that should have the same interests. That's why we are, I would say, asking for more European involvement, more European commitment of managing together migration, which is not a Sicilian issue or an Italian issue, it is a truly European issue, is a very — very good point.
On all of these points, we will be having very close and continuous consultations, as we have done in the past. In spirit of frankness, we are in the condition to speak to each other practically whenever is necessary with great pleasure. And thank you once again, Hillary.
SEC. CLINTON: Thank you, Franco.
STAFF: First question goes to Jill Dougherty of CNN.
Q: Thank you. Secretary Clinton.
SEC. CLINTON: Hello.
Q: Hello. Speaking of Libya, we have this intriguing letter from Moammar Gadhafi going to President Obama urging him to stop the NATO bombing. How do you interpret that? I mean, could this be a sign that Gadhafi is ready to deal, ready to step down?
And then also, you have your representative there and he's meeting with the opposition. Is it time for the U.S. to recognize or fund the opposition?
If I could ask one quick one —
SEC. CLINTON: (Laughs.)
Q: I know this is our tradition — our tradition. Two days to go before the government could shut down. How is the State Department ready for this?
What can Americans expect from the State Department?
And Mr. Foreign Minister, you were talking about Libya. Are you urging Secretary Clinton to — the United States to recognize the opposition?
Thank you.
SEC. CLINTON: Franco, that's four or five questions. (Laughter.) So we — it — they try to test my memory. (Laughter.) So I'll see — I'll see whether I can.
First, with respect to the letter you referred to, I think that Mr. Gadhafi knows what he must do. There needs to be a cease-fire. His forces need to withdraw from the cities that they have forcibly taken at great violence and human cost. There needs to be a decision made about his departure from power and, as the foreign minister said, his departure from Libya.
So I don't think there is any mystery about what is expected from Mr. Gadhafi at this time. That is a — an international assessment. And the sooner that occurs and the bloodshed ends, the better it will be for everyone.
Secondly, our envoy, Chris Stevens, is in Benghazi. He is meeting with many different people. I want to publicly thank again the Italian government, which has been very helpful in assisting him to be there to and to meet those with whom he is meeting. And we will wait to hear more from him. He's obviously doing an assessment right now.
With respect to the question about the shutdown, obviously President Obama has made abundantly clear that the United States government, the Obama administration and, I believe, the American people do not want to see a government shutdown.
We are very hopeful that the Congress will reach the right decision, which is to agree on whatever cuts are necessary for the 2011 budget and go on with the business of the American …