(Reuters) – NATO confirmed on Tuesday the appointment of Spanish diplomat Javier Colomina as the military alliance’s new envoy tasked with coordinating actions on its southern flank, a move that has caused outrage in Italy.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has accused NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of betraying Rome by not appointing an Italian to the position, created this month at the request of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Her government said at the time it thought an Italian should be given the job. Crosetto told La Stampa newspaper at the weekend that Stoltenberg had nominated a Spaniard, and that he considered the decision as “nearly a personal affront”.
Colomina is NATO’s Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, and has served as Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia.
“The Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel regions are important to our Alliance,” Stoltenberg said in a statement on Colomina’s appointment as Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood.
“Javier Colomina has extensive experience in dealing with NATO partners. His appointment will further strengthen NATO’s important work in the South.”
(Reporting by Bart Meijer, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
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