Italy, Spain to boost militrary cooperation in Libya, Lebanon
ROME. May 11. KAZINFORM Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa met on Tuesday with his Spanish counterpart Carme Chacon Piqueras to discuss military cooperation in Libya and Lebanon; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
La Russa and Piqueras during the meeting launched a joint military commission to reduce the number of Italian troops deployed in Lebanon to 1,000. The meeting also focused on the Libyan mission, a military official told Xinhua.
The meeting took place at the Italian military base of Decimomannu on the island of Sardinia, where Spain has sent four F-18 fighter jets and a refueling aircraft to participate in the NATO-led operation in Libya.
"We have convened on the positive results of our joint commitment in Libya and on the urgency of launching as soon as possible a diplomatic exit strategy to the ongoing conflict," La Russa said at the end of the meeting.
Italy has offered its southern military base to the countries involved in the NATO-led mission to Libya and recently decided to take part in air raids over the North African country.