Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni did not rule out the possibility of sending troops to Libya as long as it was part of an UN-sponsored plan to help solve the crisis in the Arab country, the Anadolu Agency reported.
In an interview with La Republica yesterday, Gentiloni said Italy must not “repeat the mistake of putting boots on the ground before having a political solution to support.”
“Certainly a peacekeeping operation in Libya, rigorously under UN sponsorship, would see Italy on the frontlines,” he continued.
He stressed that Italy would act provided intervention “was preceded by a negotiating process towards new elections guaranteed by a government of ‘wise men’, in the absence of which showing uniforms only risks deteriorating the situation. We are working on it, with countries in the area and the United Nations.”