Afghanistan: West must reflect on mistakes says Di Maio

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 17 - The West must reflect on the mistakes made after the Taliban retook Afghanistan in short order after a western pullout, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday.
    Di Maio told EU colleagues "we cannot shrink, as the West, from a profound reflection on the mistakes made and he lessons to be learned from the 20-year intervention in Afghanistan.
    "Now, however, it is necessary to define a common strategy.
    "In the Italian vision, the European approach should be based on five priorities".
    These priorities, he said, included the protection of civilians and protecting Afghans who worked with the international community.
    He said Italy would continue to bring out Afghans who had worked with its military contingent and embassy.
    "In the next few days," he added, "we will have to work on a coordinated international initiative to ensure humanitarian flights and make sure the emergency is replaced by an organised process". (ANSA).