Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto announced today that Rome will host a meeting of defense ministers for the first time of the G-7 countries, reported France Press. He did not clarify on which date it will be held.
"There has never been a meeting of the defense ministers of the G7 countries. Now there will be such a meeting for the first time in Italy, because I strongly insisted that the G7 also deal with the topic of defense," Crosetto said in Prague during the "Globsec" security forum, which discusses issues related to with defense and European foreign policy, BTA specifies.
"I find it absurd that the G7 deals with tourism but has never dealt with defense,'' he says.
Italy is the rotating chairman of the G-7 this year.
Crozeto today also expressed support for the decision of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to create the post of European Commissioner for Defense Affairs.
"This is a very fair choice. Europe has never been concerned with defense. There is not even a European Commissioner for EU defence," Crosetto recalled.
"Von der Leyen's election shows a new path for Europe, which started the day after the Russian invasion of Ukraine,", he added.
"We thought that it was enough for us to be friends with the US and that this would guarantee our future and that we could be calm and live in security at zero cost," the minister added.
"We have found that this is not exactly the case, that we have to invest in security, that our armed forces, those of all European countries, are not prepared to bear the brunt of a war because they were created to to participate, as much as possible, in several international missions", stated Crozetto.