(ANSA) - ROME, AUGUST 17 - Priority at this time is "the protection of civilians" and "the safety of Afghans have collaborated with the international community. As regards Italy, as long as conditions allow, evacuation operations will continue of other compatriots and Afghan citizens who have supported our embassy and our military contingent. In the next few days we should work on an internationally coordinated initiative to ensure humanitarian flights and ensure that an organized process replaces the emergency ". This was stated by Minister Luigi Di Maio speaking to the EU Foreign Council.
"We are aware - added Di Maio - that the reception demand for refugees and migrants from Afghanistan will increase. It is therefore necessary for the EU to develop a common response, also in this case in close collaboration with the partners of the region, to which it will go. at the same time the necessary support was ensured ".
The Foreign Minister also stated that "we, like the West, will not be exempt from a thorough reflection on the mistakes made and the lessons to be learned from the twenty-year intervention in Afghanistan. Now, however, it is necessary to define a shared strategy" (ANSA).