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Rome, Nov 25 (EFE).-

The foreign ministers of the G7, the group of seven of the world’s most industrialized democracies, hope to reach a “united” position regarding the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday during a new summit in central Italy.

“We need to be united on this,” Tajani told the press after the first working session of a two-day meeting of G7 foreign ministers in the central Italian towns of Fiuggi and Anagni.

“I have maintained that it is necessary to have a single position on the ICC decision. We have talked about it, let’s see if we can have a section dedicated to it in the final communiqué, we are working to find an agreement,” Tajani added.

The foreign ministers of the G7 (Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom) are meeting for the second time this year under the rotating presidency of Rome after a summit was held in Capri in April.

The ICC on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Mohammed Deif, a senior Hamas official that Israel has said was killed in the conflict.

The Italian government coalition has expressed conflicting positions on whether to comply: Prime Minister Meloni has said she needs to look into the ruling, while Vice President Matteo Salvini has asserted that Netanyahu would be “welcome” in the country.

Other G7 countries are also sharply divided on the issue. The United States, which is not a member of the ICC, has rejected the ruling, Germany said it is “examining” how to respond, and the UK said it would “comply with its legal obligations as set out by domestic law and indeed international law.”

The G7 meeting, attended by representatives of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, focused on the international crisis in the Middle East caused by the war between Israel and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine.

Tajani reassured that all members of the G7 were “in favor of a ceasefire” and expressed his “confidence” that one could be reached in Lebanon, at the same time as news broke that the Israeli security cabinet would meet in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to approve the US proposal for a ceasefire with the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The G7 summit in Italy will continue on Tuesday, dedicated to the war in Ukraine, after the United States authorized Kyiv to use Western-made longer-range missiles against targets in Russia, ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House and amid threats from Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is expected to make his first appearance at the forum, replacing his predecessor, Dmytro Kuleba, who was replaced last September.

Other issues on the table, according to the Italian presidency, will be the stability of the Asian and Pacific region, with the growing influence of China, due to its “priority” value in the political and commercial balance.

The meeting will conclude on Tuesday with a final press conference by the host minister at 16:45 local time. EFE

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