The Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio on the escalation in Syria of Turkey said: "I hope that the European Union can take measures. Italy will ask to enforce international law, not to endanger the lives of civilians and to stop all military action".
Di Maio also hinted that he wanted to support the French line of imposing sanctions on Turkey.
Di Maio with his statements has angered and not a little Ankara than with his ambassador in Rome, Murat Salim Esenli, he said: "What would happen if Trentino Alto Adige was hit by mortar shells, or if Piedmont was attacked by France?".
The ambassador repeated what he had already pointed out to the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Marina Sereni: "We treat all terrorist organizations equally, even Daesh (Isis), which is as dangerous as Ypg / Pyd",
They, according to Ankara, are the armed wing of the PKK terrorist organization. The desire of the Turks is that the Syrians can return to their homes.
In reference to the ISIS jihadists: "They will be treated as they deserve, but we don't trust the Ypg".
The Turks are in NATO and are present in Libya to defend the government of al Serraj. Going against Turkey means questioning the strategic alliance with the country led by Erdogan which, according to the words of NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, has the second largest army in the Atlantic alliance, and which would be counterproductive to bring Turkey closer to Russia.
Italy, thanks to the excellent trade relations with Turkey, 7,5 billion interchange until May 2019, should "weigh" the declarations.
Germany is more attentive, where the federal government has decisively rejected the blackmailing tones used by Erdogan on the possibility of returning migrants to Europe, but the only ones to raise the threat of sanctions were the Greens and the Left. The minister of the Esten Maas has called for a stop to the offensive, but it is no secret that the German-made Leopard tanks are the backbone of the Turkish tanks.
On Monday in Luxembourg there will be the council of ministers for foreign affairs, where the head of Italian diplomacy, according to sources from the Farnesina, should use a softer tone towards Turkey, firmly condemning the killing of innocent civilians.
The interview given by the general on cybernaua.it was very interesting Pasquale Preziosa, former head of the Air Force up to 2016.
From the military point of view, what measures could be taken against Erdogan's decision?
"None. Italy does not have the instruments of foreign policy to be able to enter the story of the invasion of a piece of Syria inhabited by the Kurds.
The litmus test of Italy and its ability to operate in foreign policy has already been given to us in the last one querelle in February 2018, when the Turkish Navy stopped the ENI platform, which was heading towards Cyprus to begin drilling under license from the Nicosia government. Italy merely protested against the Turkish abuses.
Italy will now follow the same protocol, which has long been tested. In the same incident that instead interested France, the French warships raised their anchors to protect their legitimate interests: the move was successful. In foreign policy, "whoever makes himself a wolf eats it".
From a geopolitical point of view, the permanent political instability of our country that has had almost 100 governments in 158 years of history, instead of the presumable 31 is the main indicator of our foreign policy influence".
Turkey's position in the Atlantic Alliance, after the decision to invade Syria, how could it change?
"Turkey's position in NATO should not be examined for the invasion of a part of Syria, but for the new political profiles that Turkey has taken after the failed coup of the 2016, the fall of the coup supporters in Turkey and the request to the USA to extradite the exile Fethullah Gülen, considered by Erdogan the political organizer of the coup.
The relationship of trust between the two countries has been damaged and this has led, in fall, to
the Turkish decision to acquire S400 missiles from Russia: this decision has moved the Turkish strategic axis towards Russia. American retaliation was not long in coming: the sale of the American F 35 to the Turks was canceled
In the Kurdish affair, NATO Secretary Stoltenberg has also entered, declaring: "Turkey and other actors act with moderation and stop the operation", followed by the President of the European Parliament who declared "Ankara stop the Raids immediately", our Prime Minister stressed "The Turkish military initiative must immediately cease and the EU and the entire international community will have to speak with one voice." The UN is watching and Erdogan threatens to start the refugees.
With the US retreat from the zone and the betrayal of the Kurds' expectations of being recognized as anti-ISIS heroes: unfortunately, there is no level interlocutor who has the political desire to seek a solution to the Turkish diatribe with the Kurds: I believe that things will go on as planned by Turkey. NATO in the meantime will have to examine the future prospects of the Alliance, in light of the strategic disagreement between the US and Turkey.
What possible consequence the ISIS that had lost ground today could have more chances to rise in the area and in any case there is to be expected the increase of political terrorism in that area".
What does Europe need to put together a Common Defense that is also able to take positions towards situations that can cause instability?
"The European Union has not completed its structure, it still relies on NATO for its security and defense e it must be continuously urged by the USA to provide autonomously for their own Defense. Not all European NATO countries have the will to respect their commitment to reach 2% of GDP for defense.
European countries struggle to understand that the world is changing for the worse and that we need to move from competition to cooperation between states.
The French initiatives to form a European army have been opposed both by the US and by Germany.
Whenever a robust initiative emerges in Europe, the winds of conservatism are felt.
The previous European initiatives in the field of defense that started from the availability of 60.000 men, then came to realize the Battle Groups from 1500 units never used in the 14 years of life, a clear sign of the uselessness of the choice and waste of resources.
Europe is deprived of important pillars of militarism and still lacks shared leadership.
NATO is the only bastion of security for Europe.
THEEurope will be able to grow, in military terms, in the shadow of NATO, retracing the path of the United States towards federalism.
Individual European countries will be able to maintain their participation in the NATO Alliance, starting to establish European military capabilities in permanent structured cooperation to be made available to NATO as a small EU pillar.
The small steps are those that best fit our culture based on the suspects, unfortunately legitimate, due to the almost 200 million deaths caused by Europeans in the world by the last two world conflicts (10% of the world population of the time)".
Could problems arise for Italian contingents located in sensitive international theaters?
"I do not believe that the Turkish action that aims at national security aims to destabilize the international framework.
Relations between the Syrian Kurds and Turkey were very tense since the past.
In the 2014 the US has managed to avoid the clash between the two entities, acting as mediators to fight ISIS, unfortunately the mediation has now ended with the US brutal exit from the Syrian conflict (Jacob Shapiro said: "US President Donald Trump betrayed the Syrian Kurds).
The Kurds today are alone with themselves and the map of the Middle East will undergo the consequent modifications".