Overview
- NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte told Fox News that 500 U.S. military aircraft took off from Italian bases to support Operation "Epic Fury," a claim published in several outlets on Thursday that provoked immediate reaction in Rome.
- Italy’s defence ministry and a NATO spokeswoman quickly countered Rutte’s wording and said only technical and logistical support was authorised from Italian bases, not combat missions.
- Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni publicly criticised Rutte’s description at the Italian–French summit in Antibes and repeated that requests for combat use of bases were not approved.
- Opposition leader Giuseppe Conte used Rutte’s remark to press Meloni for fuller disclosure and accused the government of downplaying Italy’s role, leaving the issue politically live at home.
- The episode underlines how use of foreign bases needs national approval, could trigger parliamentary scrutiny in Italy, and raises questions about NATO messaging ahead of the Ankara summit and under pressure from U.S. criticism of European burden sharing.