Italy ready to organize Syria evacuations says Tajani

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 7 - Italy is ready to organize evacuations from Syria as Turkish-backed and anti-Assad Islamist rebels make major advances towards Damascus, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said after speaking remotely with Italian ambassadors in the Middle East, Moscow and the Holy See Saturday.
    "The embassy is ready to organize evacuations, we already have requests, the Government is ready to do what is necessary both with national and UN initiatives for the safe exit of citizens", said Tajani at the end of the meeting on the Syrian crisis at the Farnesina Crisis Unit from where the minister connected with all the Italian ambassadors in the Region.
    "We will ensure that all those who want to leave Syria can do so", he added without providing details on the evacuation plans.
    Tajani said he had apprised Premier Giorgia Meloni of the situation in the Middle Eastern country, which has been ripped apart by warring factions for nearly 14 years, spawning successive refugee crises.
    "I informed the Prime Minister in detail about the evolution of the situation in Syria and in the entire area at the end of the meeting with all the Italian ambassadors, starting with the one in Syria, and then also with the one in Turkey and Moscow", which was useful "to have an overall assessment of what is happening also from a political point of view", said Tajani, adding that "obviously the first concern is to protect the safety of the 300 fellow citizens who live in Syria".
    The situation of Italians in Syria is currently under control, Tajani stressed.
    "At the moment there are no worries," for Italian citizens in Syria, said Tajani, who is also deputy premier and leader of the centre-right post Berlusconi Forza Italia (FI) party.
    "Some have managed to leave the country. However, all are in contact with our Embassy in Damascus. "The situation of our fellow citizens is under control." Tajani was speaking after having remotely huddled at the foreign ministry in Rome with ambassadors from the Middle Eastern region as well as Moscow and the Holy See to discuss political and diplomatic initiatives to bring about a cessation of hostilities in Syria.
    Ambassadors in Damascus, Doha, Tel Aviv, Amman, Beirut, Tehran, Baghdad, Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Riyadh, Ankara, Moscow and the Holy See hooked up to the Farnesina to talk with Tajani.
    The evacuation of religious as well as Italians from Syria was also discussed.
    Tajani also said: "The objective we support is the political, non-military solution that allows us to guarantee peace and stability in Syria, which is an important part of stability in the Middle East.
    "We trust and support the ongoing discussions in Doha and we hope that from that meeting an agreement can be found with a political solution, which we encourage all parties to pursue".
    On the crisis in Syria, Tajani added, there is also "constant contact" between the G7 partners.
    "We ask the parties in conflict first of all to preserve the civilian population. And that the safety of all minorities be guaranteed, starting with the Christian one.
    "I spoke with the Nuncio in Damascus and reiterated our commitment, with direct requests to the Turkish minister and through our embassy in Moscow and the United Nations to the Russian Federation", Tajani said.
    Syrian rebels announced that they have taken control of the city of Sanmin in the Daraa countryside, located about 20 km south of the capital Damascus.
    Fighting is ongoing inside the city of Homs.
    The capital remains their objective.
    And Syrian troops fleeing the advance of jihadist insurgents are crossing the border and entering Iraq, a security source in Baghdad said.
    There is no news on President Bashar al-Assad, meanwhile.
    "Perhaps he is already abroad", some media wrote. (ANSA).