United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Italy Tuesday for wide-ranging discussions with Italian officials.
According to diplomatic sources, bilateral ties, NATO, trade tariffs and the situation in conflict-torn Libya will be high on the agenda of the talks between Italy’s top officials and the first Italian-American secretary of state.
Pompeo met with President Sergio Mattarella in the presence of Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, at the presidential Quirinal palace, on Tuesday afternoon.
He then went on to talks with Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte at the premier’s office.
The recent wave of US trade tariffs was said to be among the main talking points, as well as Libya where Italy has been backing the national unity government in its struggle with eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Pompeo gave no press conferences Tuesday but will address one after one-to-one talks with Di Maio on Wednesday.
He will also speak to the press after meeting Pope Francis on Thursday before heading off to view his ancestral home in the mountainous Abruzzo region.
During the October 1-6 trip to Europe, he will go to Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Greece too.
The US State Department said Tuesday on Pompeo’s trip that “Italy is a key NATO Ally, a leader and guarantor of security in the international community, and a reliable partner”. It said “Italy plays a crucial role in guaranteeing Transatlantic security, particularly in assuring NATO’s southern flank through its presence in Libya and around the world, in Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, and Afghanistan”.
