Conte to Erdogan: "No hypocrisy from Italy"

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte absolutely rejects any accusation of hypocrisy by President Tayyp Erdogan. Conte himself said this during the press conference after the European Council, responding to those who spoke to him about the accusations of hypocrisy that Erdogan launched against Western leaders who contacted him in the past few days. "Yesterday there was this long phone call with President Erdogan during which I strongly and convinced reiterated that this initiative sounds unacceptable, for me, for the government, for our entire community. I also specified to him that I had just returned, the day before, from a passage in Parliament and all the parliamentary groups expressed their opinion and the clear position was unified and firmly condemned this initiative.".

"Nobody believes that this unilaterally decided military initiative can lead to a stabilization, to the resolution of the very complex problems that exist in that regional quadrant. Indeed, I reiterated it, it is already causing further destabilization, further suffering to the local population, foreign fighters who have been released. But above all I tried to persuade him that it is a serious political mistake that Turkey is committing, that it condemns itself to isolation. So I greeted the ceasefire with a positive attitude which, even if it is not the solution to all problems, is the first positive step in trying to create that de-escalation in such a compromised situation. It is now necessary to verify how this safe zone will be declined and the guarantee that the Turks require, but the fact that it was communicated through the UN path does not mean that it is not a unilateral initiative communicated near the start of operations. The meaning does not change ".

“So no hypocrisy on the part of Italy. It is an accusation that I absolutely reject. When we move on an international level, we must never change our attitude, have double standards, do double standards. This very linear position was espoused from the beginning and will be pursued in every multilateral forum. In Libya, when I spoke to Haftar I was very clear: I told him he was making a big political mistake. No hypocrisy on the part of Italy. Italy will always pursue a peaceful solution in all scenarios, also out of fidelity to its own constitutional provisions. And we believe that dialogical confrontation, a constructive, inclusive attitude, the path towards a political solution will always be absolutely preferable to military action.".

Conte to Erdogan: "No hypocrisy from Italy"