Italian president warns force increasingly used to settle global disputes

Italian President Sergio Mattarella warned Friday that the world is seeing a return to "power politics," with threats and the use of force increasingly shaping international disputes, according to ANSA news agency.

"A predatory claim over existing resources, both material and immaterial, is once again emerging, with a worrying tendency to restore power politics, with the threat and, when necessary, the use of force to support one’s own claims in the resolution of international disputes," Mattarella said in a message to the Ambrosetti Forum.

He said a growing range of global challenges requires cooperation among states, citing climate change, health, access to basic resources and the impact of artificial intelligence.

Mattarella pointed to the European Union as an example of countries overcoming conflict through cooperation.

"The European Union still constitutes the world's most striking example of shared sovereignty, underpinned by common values and capable of ensuring peace, rights and widespread prosperity to a group of states accustomed to fighting one another for centuries," he said.

He added that the bloc's successes were "indisputable" and that its appeal "remains strong and vibrant."