This is the path, since “we live in a time of great uncertainty on the international front,” said the Italian head of state during a speech released by the Presidency of the Republic during the conference on the General States of Diplomacy in Rome.

Speaking at the opening session of the event, Mattarella stressed that “we live in a world marked by the proliferation of conflicts, by a race towards fragmentation, including economic fragmentation (…) We are faced with the paradox of an increasingly interconnected and interdependent global society that is going through a phase in which the sirens of nationalist, ethnic, if not arbitrarily religious sectarianism, appear again, with stale recipes,” while “multilateral institutions struggle to act effectively,” he said.

During the event, which brings together more than 150 Italian ambassadors ministers, and international figures, the president referred to serious conflicts such as those taking place in Ukraine and the Middle East, that affect global security and stability.

The Italian president said that the ceasefire in Lebanon, which “was never fully implemented,” created hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 44 thousand Palestinians have already died and the rest of the population faces a serious humanitarian crisis as a result of Israel’s attacks. “We need to put an end to the inhuman suffering of the civilian population in the Strip and ensure that immediate aid arrives,” he stressed, and asserted that “concerning Palestine, it must be firmly reiterated that, for the Italian Republic, the true future perspective lies in the two-state solution.”

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, Mattarella reaffirmed the Italian government’s position in supporting Kiev politically, militarily, and economically, while insisting on the need to achieve peace, an effort that “requires the contribution of everyone, especially the global powers.”

Regarding the current situation in Syria after President Bashar al-Assad overthrow, the president said that “with similar tenacity, it will be necessary to accompany the definition of the State that will emerge” in that country, both from the political point of view and with regard to the humanitarian consequences.

“Renewing confidence in diplomacy and high diplomatic professionalism is not a praiseworthy exercise in good manners, but a call to responsibility,” Mattarella stressed.

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