Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni believes that NATO needs to increase its attention to Africa and the Global South, as Russia may increase its presence in eastern Libya after the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria.
Meloni said that over the last two years she has raised the issue of Russia’s presence in Africa with her allies and called on NATO to strengthen its presence on the continent.
“We are very focused on our eastern flank, not realizing that all the flanks of this Alliance are potentially vulnerable, especially the southern flank,” she said.
Last month the Kremlin said it was negotiating with the new authorities of Syria over its bases and was not going to withdraw troops from there.
Therefore, Italy fears that Moscow may try to strengthen its presence elsewhere.
“After the fall of the Assad regime, there is reason to believe that Russia is looking for other (maritime) outlets, and there is reason to believe that Cyrenaica (in Libya) could be one of them,” Meloni said.
