G7 foreign ministers will meet on Monday to reach a common position on the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICC) arrest warrant issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who is hosting the two-day conference in the small Italian town of Fiuggi, said he does not think reaching a consensus on the arrest warrant will be difficult.
“It’s not an immediate and actual problem. I don’t think Netanyahu will come to Italy or anywhere else,” he told the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera before the meeting.
The ICC issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Mr Netanyahu and the recently dismissed Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, for alleged war crimes relating to the conflict in Gaza.
|
---|
Israel’s allies had criticised the decision. Member states of the ICC are generally obliged to enforce the arrest warrants, though there is disagreement over how to handle Mr Netanyahu’s case.
In addition to the Middle East crisis, the war in Ukraine and the implications of Donald Trump’s re-election as US president for the international order are among the main topics on the agenda for the meeting, which is the final one between the G7 foreign ministers for this year.
Mr Tajani told the Corriere della Sera that he was in favour of a peace conference on Ukraine with the participation of the United States and Russia as soon as possible.
Russia fired a new medium-range missile at Ukraine last week in a new escalation of the conflict that has now been ongoing for over 1,000 days.
READ ALSO: Netanyahu’s cabinet votes to ban Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel
In recent days, Ukraine had reportedly fired at military targets in Russia with ATACMS missiles from the US that can travel up to 300 kilometres and Storm Shadow cruise missiles from the United Kingdom.
The G7 foreign ministers would also discuss the threat to the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist leadership in Beijing regards as its territory.
Italy holds the presidency of the G7 until the end of the year.
The group’s other members are the US, Canada, the UK, Japan, France and Germany.
By 2025, Canada is due to take over the presidency.
(dpa/NAN)
Support PREMIUM TIMES' journalism of integrity and credibility
At Premium Times, we firmly believe in the importance of high-quality journalism. Recognizing that not everyone can afford costly news subscriptions, we are dedicated to delivering meticulously researched, fact-checked news that remains freely accessible to all.
Whether you turn to Premium Times for daily updates, in-depth investigations into pressing national issues, or entertaining trending stories, we value your readership.
It’s essential to acknowledge that news production incurs expenses, and we take pride in never placing our stories behind a prohibitive paywall.
Would you consider supporting us with a modest contribution on a monthly basis to help maintain our commitment to free, accessible news?
Make ContributionTEXT AD: Call Willie - +2348098788999