Il Messaggero: Italian Foreign Ministry approved appointing an ambassador to Damascus
The Italian newspaper “Il Messaggero” revealed that the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, has approved a new movement of appointments of ambassadors to several countries, including Syria, following Italy’s decision to resume diplomatic relations with Damascus.
Thus, Italy becomes the first country of the G7 to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in Syria.
The newspaper explained that Ambassador Stefano Ravagnan will serve as the Italian ambassador to Syria, in a move that reflects Rome’s readiness to reopen its embassy in Damascus.
It added that the appointment document submitted by Tajani to the Council of Ministers at the end of July included the name of Ambassador Ravagnan, who will present his credentials to Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
The newspaper stated that Ravagnan is an experienced expert in counter-terrorism, as he previously worked with Ambassador Pasquale Ferrara as Director General of Political Affairs.
It pointed out that Italy’s decision to officially resume relations with Damascus, by appointing an ambassador instead of a chargé d’affaires, may raise some doubts in the United States and the European Union, which consider the issue sensitive and require caution.
Six other European countries maintain embassies in Damascus: Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
None of Italy’s G7 partners, the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada, France and Germany, have yet to reappoint their ambassadors to Syria.
Italy recalled all its embassy staff from Damascus and suspended diplomatic activity there in 2012.
However, as European pressure to re-examine relations with Syria has grown, some European countries, such as Italy, have begun taking steps to re-engage diplomatically with Damascus.
According to a report by the German news agency DPA, eight European countries have called on the European Union to re-evaluate its position on Syria in light of the increasing number of refugees.
These countries, which include Italy, Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Greece, Slovenia and Slovakia, have called for a realistic and effective approach to Syria, including the appointment of an envoy to strengthen diplomatic relations with all Syrian parties and a review of sanctions imposed on Damascus to ensure that they target only government officials without harming the private sector.
In a related context, Cyprus indicated that it, along with other countries, supports the proposal to declare safe zones in Syria, after hosting a conference for member states that support this proposal.
This comes after the European Union signed a comprehensive reform of immigration and asylum policies, in an attempt to address the challenges of refugees and migrants from Syria.
