Gilles Kepel, President Emmanuel Macron’s special envoy to the Middle East and the Mediterranean, said that small differences with Italy over Libya will not lead to results for the parties, according to Italian news agency Nova.
“Small differences over Libya between France and Italy will lead to zero results for the parties, and will benefit countries like Russia,” Kepel added, at the conclusion of the international conference “Italy and France, one year after the Quirinal Treaty,” held at the French Embassy in Rome.
“The most important challenge” for France and Italy is their relationship with the Mediterranean, Kepel pointed out. “Italy has succeeded in establishing a relationship in the field of energy with Algeria, which in turn is reconsidering the relationship with Russia.” He said.
Observers say that the differences between Rome and Paris increased after the Libyan government of Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh signed the gas agreement with the Italian company Eni. Aldo, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had previously accused France of interfering in Libya, to prevent Italy from obtaining “important concessions” in the field of energy. She also accused the French intervention in Libya of “causing the chaos of illegal immigration that Europe suffers from today.”