When asked whether Italy planned to join the antiterrorist campaign in Syria even if not asked to by the Syrian government, Paolo Gentiloni said that involved as it was in the Iraqi situation, in Syria Italy prioritized a possible transfer of political power to a new leadership.
“Because we always knew that if our bombing raids forced [President Bashar] Assad to step down, Islamic State or the al-Nusra Front would eventually step in to fill the void,” Gentiloni noted.
Only two months ago a peaceful power change in Damascus seemed absolutely impossible, but Russian intervention which we initially considered as a dangerous factor actually made this change of guard a possibility, the minister added.
“This power change in Damascus, as well as Russia’s participation, is our main priority, but what happened yesterday threatens to reverse the crucially important process of Russia’s involvement in the conflict,” the Italian Foreign Minister said in conclusion.
