Israel’s willingness to become Italian natural gas supplier and the green light from France and Germany to Ukraine’s candidacy to the European Union are the main results that Prime Minister Mario Draghi achieved this week, at the end of a double mission. abroad: on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 he went to Israel and the Palestinian territories, while on Thursday 16 he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyj in Ukraine, together with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis also participated.
With the mission to Jerusalem, Israel entered the list of countries that will help Italy diversify its energy supply sources and reduce dependence on Russian gas. During his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Draghi registered ample room for cooperation. The premier said the two countries already work together in the use of gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean and for the development of renewable energy, while Bennett confirmed that Israel will be able to help Europe and Italy by producing natural gas. Meanwhile, Russia continues to cut off supplies. One of the reasons that gave Moscow, explained Draghi in Kiev, is that maintenance requires spare parts that do not arrive due to the sanctions. “But we and others believe them to be lies, we think there is a political use of gas,” he stressed. Italy’s attention is mainly focused on the offshore fields discovered off the coast of Israel, the Tarnar and Leviathan. The problem is how to get this gas to Italy and Europe. Italy wants to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the peace pipeline that connects Israel to Egypt. It could guarantee liquid gas, after a liquefaction process in Al-Arish, on the Sinai coast, and transport by ship. On the other hand, it is more difficult to rely on the EastMed project, an infrastructure that runs between Israel, Cyprus and Greece, which may not be ready before 2027.
Peace was also at the center of talks in Israel, both in the Middle East and in Ukraine. Draghi discussed it with Bennett, with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, whom he met in Ramallah, in the West Bank. Draghi confirmed to Bennett that Italy will continue to work for peace negotiations in Ukraine, on terms that local authorities deem acceptable. But in Kiev he had to acknowledge that “there is no scope” for a ceasefire. On the part of Ukraine, the condition for negotiations remains that of territorial integrity. Furthermore, Russia “does not want peace,” the premier said. And then, according to Draghi, we must continue to help Ukraine to defend itself and decide the conditions for peace.
However, the premier returned to Rome with good diplomatic success. If, in fact, in Jerusalem he had reaffirmed Italy’s willingness to support Ukraine’s desire to be part of the European Union, in Kiev he received the full support of France and Germany on this. “Today we all said that we are ready to support the cause of Ukraine as a candidate in the next European Council”, he explained, while admitting that this path will require a discussion on the rules of the Union and overcoming the resistance of other European states, such as Finland, Denmark and Portugal.
On the subject of the food emergency, however, at the moment there are no signs of an imminent solution. In Israel Draghi expressed the fear that it will turn into a “catastrophe” if safe corridors are not opened soon for the transport of grain blocked in Ukraine. This is a concern shared with Bennett, whose country depends half of its needs on wheat from Ukraine and Russia. The approval of a United Nations resolution regulating navigation on the Black Sea, Draghi recalled, would be the quickest solution, “but for now Russia has refused it”.