Italy defence minister warns G7 over ‘deteriorated’ security framework

19/10/2024 18:17

        The global security framework is growing increasingly precarious due to competing world visions, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told his peers at a meeting of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies that kicked off in Naples on Saturday.
        
        The G7 gathering marks the group's first ministerial meeting dedicated to defence and comes as the West grapples with the Russian advance in Ukraine and a spiralling conflict in the Middle East between Israel and its regional enemies.
        
        There is also deep concern over China's military activities around Taiwan and heightened tensions along the border of North and South Korea.
        
        Italy holds the G7 rotating presidency for 2024. The group also includes the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Japan, with European Union and NATO representatives also attending the gathering in the southern Italian city.
        
        Warning that forecasts for near future "cannot be positive", Crosetto said tensions were fuelled by "a common driver: the confrontation between two different, perhaps incompatible, visions of the world".