Premier Giorgia Meloni said peace is
not built not by talk, but by deterrence, as she visited Italian
troops deployed in the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon on Thursday to
thank them for their service before Easter.
"You are not there (at home) during the holidays with your
families, you are not there for your friends, your boyfriends
and girlfriends, wives and husbands," the premier told the
troops.
"You give up everything to guarantee the peace which so many,
especially at this time, are enjoying while sitting comfortably
on their couches at home.
"That is because peace is not built with sentiments and good
words, peace is, above all, about deterrence and commitment,
sacrifice".
She described the Italian troops as a firewall in the region.
"These are difficult days for the Middle East, Europe, the
world," she said.
"When there is a fire, there is always the same risk, that the
flames fly quickly from one tree to another and cannot be put
out.
"We have to do everything that we possibly we can to avoid this
risk and you are the moat, the sand barrier that helps keep the
fire from advancing".
She also stressed that the UNIFIL mission was important for
Italy.
"I came here today to say thank you, on behalf of Italy, for
choosing to wear the uniform," she said.
"Thank you for understanding that wearing that uniform entails
knowing how to use both your head and your heart.
"Thank you for studying, because you also knew that wearing that
uniform requires professionalism and competence.
"Thank you for agreeing to come all this way to Lebanon, where
for decades our armed forces have been a fundamental part of the
UNIFIL mission; a mission that is indispensable for our nation,
in a land that it is the cradle of great civilisations, which
for a long time has also been a model of the ability of
different traditions and religious confessions to co-exist".
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