EU naval mission in Red Sea to be led either by Italy or France: Top diplomat

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Wednesday that discussions have taken place on launching a European Union naval mission to protect ships in the Red Sea which will be led by either Italy or France.

"The command of this mission will either be in Italy or France. We are working together with (Italian Defense Minister Guido) Crosetto, but it is important to protect commercial ship traffic. In addition to the Atalanta mission, there will be another one with new engagement rules. Therefore, it will have the capability to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or missiles attacking Italian ships or commercial ships of other countries. This is a military defense mission aimed at securing maritime trade traffic," Tajani said in a TV program on the Italian state broadcasting service RAI.

He said they are continuing to discuss the EU naval mission, which is aimed at protecting commercial ships in the Red Sea from attacks by Houthi forces in Yemen.

Crosetto had also mentioned that Italy, France and Greece are interested in commanding the EU mission and have submitted proposals.

Commenting on the Russia-Ukraine war, Tajani said that "peace in Ukraine is very difficult unless the Russians withdraw.

"Today, I discussed the general situation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Italy will continue to support them. Ukrainians will not accept Russia's presence in an occupied territory. Perhaps we should start the discussion from a starting point, but Ukrainians want Crimea, Donbas. We will need to see how agreements can be reached," he added.