“It was the shocking phrase of the morning,” commented the Roman newspaper La Repubblica, “and Meloni said it between two glasses of prosecco, amid a flurry of selfies.” On Tuesday, April 14, the President of the Italian Council was at Vinitaly, the international exhibition dedicated to wines and spirits held every year in Verona, and it was in the midst of its stands that she made a thunderous announcement: the suspension of the automatic renewal of the defense agreement that Italy has with Israel, which will therefore expire in six months.
This agreement, which came into force in 2005, “provides for mutual purchase of military equipment between the two countries, cooperation in the field of military research, and in the training of armed forces”, explains the online media Il Post. Specifically, La Stampa details, citing examples, that “under this bilateral agreement, in addition to two spy planes [delivered in 2016], Italy also acquired from Israel an optical reconnaissance satellite OPTSAT-3000, while in return, Tel Aviv bought 30 training aircraft Alenia Aermacchi M-346 from Leonardo in Rome.” Furthermore, continues the Turin daily, as part of the agreement, “by 2024, Italy had acquired”.
