Mali – EU meeting - Training mission gets green light, up to 24 Italians

ROME, Italy, January 17, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- An EU training mission in Mali was approved today at a foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. Italy will be sending “up to 24 men” of an expected 250 total, which could “double if need be”, Minister Giulio Terzi reported.

“The decision”, Terzi continued, “was discussed yesterday in both houses of parliament, where it earned the convinced support and vote of the three forces supporting the government, an essential prerequisite at this moment with regard both to Italian domestic policy as well as to the international situation”.

No direct military intervention

Italy's logistical support for the French mission, “will in no way be a direct military intervention”, Terzi specified, explaining that “no deployment of Italian military forces in the operational theatre is being contemplated”, adding that “this is the status of the reflection within the government and which is also being outlined in Parliament”.

The minister then explained that Italy viewed “the international community's efforts as a whole as positive, which are sanctioned by resolution 2085 and reinforced by the unanimous Security Council statement, including China and Russia, appealing for support for the Malian government in its counter-terrorist struggles”.