Blinken Arrives in Italy on Sunday for Meetings with Top Leaders, Pope

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s multination trip to Europe takes him to Italy Sunday for several days of meetings with top Italian leaders, Pope Francis, Group of 20 leaders and ministerial-level officials.

After being warmly welcomed in France and Germany, Blinken left Paris on Sunday for Rome, where he meets with the Italian foreign minister, United Nations food security agencies and U.S. Embassy officials. He will also meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline. Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Rome on Monday, when he also meets with Prime Minister Mario Draghi and President Sergio Mattarella to discuss the Syrian civil war and the humanitarian needs in that country.  The State Department says Syria remains a big concern, with tens of thousands of women and children in humanitarian camps subject to security issues as members of the Islamic State terrorist group work to exploit the camps to recruit the next generation of fighters.