Italy Pushes NATO to Improve Russia Ties, Focus on Southern Threats

Italy Pushes NATO to Improve Russia Ties, Focus on Southern Threats
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni speak to the press, Rome, Oct. 14, 2016 (AP photo by Gregorio Borgia).

Editor’s Note: This is the final article in a series about NATO members’ contributions to and relationships with the alliance.

Italy has long worked to improve ties between NATO and Russia, an effort that has continued even after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. At the same time, the country has urged NATO to focus more on threats facing the alliance’s southern flank, including insecurity resulting from migration. In an email interview, Alessandro Marrone, senior fellow with the Security, Defense and Space Program at the International Affairs Institute in Rome, describes Italy’s role in NATO and how this shapes bilateral Italy-U.S. ties.

WPR: What has been Italy’s traditional role in NATO, how has that evolved in recent years, and how do Italy’s political class and general public view the alliance?

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