G7 defense chiefs meet in Italy amid ongoing Middle East crisis, Ukraine war

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) — G7 defense ministers on Saturday met in Italy as tensions rise in the Middle East and the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.

The meeting, attended by defense ministers from the US, Germany, France, Canada, the UK, Italy, and Japan, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, commenced in Naples, the southern Italian city which is also home to a NATO base.

In his speech, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the global security landscape was becoming increasingly precarious due to diverging worldviews.

"The brutal Russian aggressions in Ukraine and the, indeed, critical situation in Middle East, combined with the profound instability of sub-Saharan Africa and the increasing tension in the Indo-Pacific region, highlight a deteriorated security framework," Crosetto said.

Asserting that there is little reason for optimism in the short term, Crosetto said tensions were driven mainly by a common factor, the clash between two differing, possibly incompatible, worldviews.

*Writing by Muhammed Enes Calli in Istanbul