Vita gazette – President Joe Biden praised Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Affirming that the basis of Atlantic cooperation is Italy, Biden said: “There is one thing I appreciate about you, your effort to unite NATO and the EU, and you have succeeded. It was hard to believe that they went hand in hand, it was more likely that they would split but he managed to make them go hand in hand”.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who turned the helm of Italian foreign policy towards the US, NATO and the EU, went to America to meet with President Joe Biden. Draghi was received yesterday in the White House by US President Joe Biden during his first official visit to the United States. In the open part of the summit, speeches were delivered on the unity of the Atlantic alliance made up of the US-EU-NATO trio and its importance. The match behind closed doors between Mario Draghi and Joe Biden lasted one hour and forty minutes.

Draghi a good friend

Biden said in his speech: “You are a good friend and a wonderful ally, we will have a lot to talk about. Putin wanted to divide us, but he failed. We are more united than ever, “he said. Biden also expressed his appreciation: “There is one thing I appreciate about his, his effort to unite NATO and the EU, and he succeeded. It was hard to believe that they went hand in hand, it was more likely that they would split but he managed to make them go hand in hand“.

Prime Minister Draghi, in his speech in which he often used the word unity, said: “We are now united in condemning the war, sanctions and helping Ukraine as President Zelensky asked us. “People want to end this slaughter and are wondering what they can do to bring peace,” he said. Addressing Biden: “This crisis will lead the European Union to be even more united. We know we can count on the support of President Biden, who is a great friend of Europe,” he added.

During the meeting, the United States should have asked Draghi for an increase in some commitments. Italy had previously promised to increase its presence “on the eastern flank of NATO”. The United States recently approved a tens of billions-dollar military and humanitarian aid package to Ukraine. In this context, similar requests are expected from Italy as well as from other countries.

For some time, Italy has been making considerable efforts to limit its dependence on Russian gas and oil. In this context, backstage it was expressed that Draghi would have wanted more commitment from Biden and that the topic would have been energy, and that he could have asked American companies to supply more liquefied natural gas to Italy. Furthermore, it was also among the topics discussed that Draghi could ask President Biden to support his proposal to put a unilateral ceiling on the price of Russian gas along with his European allies.

Under Draghi, Italy openly reaffirmed the Atlantic alliance. First, Draghi shifts some positions of historical proximity and uncertainty that for decades have made Italy the most pro-Russian country in Western Europe.

In public and in the media, Italy remains by far the most pro-Russian country in Western Europe, but things have changed radically with Draghi in the general elections. Today Italy has become one of the most determined countries in its foreign policy against Russia. In this context, it is argued that Draghi is the architect of the sanctions against the Russian Central Bank.