Rome/Jerusalem, April 14 -- Italy has moved to suspend its defence agreement with Israel amidst escalating tensions in West Asia, said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni today.
"In consideration of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defence agreement with Israel," she told reporters during her visit to a wine festival in Verona.
The two nations, who signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2003 under the premiership of former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, established a joint framework for structured, long-term bilateral defence and military cooperation, ratified in 2005. The MoU focused on joint military training, arms trade, research and development, and industrial partnerships, with autom...