(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 10 - Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday that there is no risk of an irregular migration flow from Syria now that the civil war is over or of terrorism in Italy while stressing the importance of remaining vigilant.
    Tajani also told Rai3's ReStart program that Italy's decision to suspend asylum requests from Syria announced late Monday is temporary.
    "We are continuing to monitor the situation.
    "The government decided yesterday to suspend asylum applications because it is necessary to understand what is going on", he explained, noting that it is a "temporary choice".
    "I would rule out the arrival en masse of irregular migrants without a civil war anymore", said the foreign minister.
    "On the contrary, at the moment there is a wish to return, but we will be very careful to understand the development of the situation", he said, adding that Italy would keep its diplomatic presence in Damascus.
    Tajani went on to stress the importance of safeguarding minorities, Christians and Italians in Syria.
    Italians "are about 300, some have fled to Lebanon and Jordan but the others are calm", he said during the interview.
    Islamist rebels who have swept to power in Damascus ending Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime have so far given a message of "moderation", he noted.
    Late on Monday, a note issued by Palazzo Chigi, the premier's office, said "the government has established, similarly to what has been done by other European partners, to suspend procedures regarding asylum requests from Syria".
    The note was released after a government meeting chaired by Premier Giorgia Meloni to "evaluate the evolution of the situation in Syria".
    Countries that announced on Monday they would not process asylum requests until there was more clarity on political developments in Syria included Germany (home to a million Syrians), Britain, the Netherlands, Greece and Austria, among others.
    Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Tuesday expressed concern for current events in Syria, including how swiftly rebels toppled Assad's regime.
    "I think we are all concerned by what is happening" in Syria, also "because of how swiftly these events occurred.
    "I am shocked that a regime that appeared so strong and solid was swept away in a short period of time", said Parolin, speaking on the sidelines of an event at the Catholic University in Milan.
    Commenting on the local population celebrating the ouster of Assad's regime, Parolin added: "They were clearly happy about what happened.
    "The important thing is for those who have taken over to create a regime that is as open and respectful of everyone as possible".
    The Islamist rebels who led the lightning war on Damascus are the strongest in a patchwork of groups across the country including Kurds and the remnants of ISIS, which is being fought by the US.
    There is uncertainty whether a national unity government can be set up.
    But at the moment most ordinary citizens are feeling huge relief and have combed the country's most notorious prison looking for relatives jailed for up to 12 years, since 2012, a year after the start of the civil war sparked by the Arab Spring.
    Israel, meanwhile, has been bombing fighters, the fleet and what they say are chemical weapons sites to stop them falling into the wrong hands.
    Tel Aviv has carried out over 300 strikes aimed at demilitarising Syria.
    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have also made incursions that Iran and Turkey have condemned as illegal.
    On Tuesday Muhammad al Bashir announced that he had been formally charged by the Directorate of Military Operations, a body of the jihadist group HTS led by Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who is now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, with forming the transitional government in Syria with a mandate "to deal with current affairs" that will last until March 1.
    "Consultations are underway to choose ministers," Bashir said in a statement.
    "We will disband the security services and abolish the anti-terrorism law," he added, speaking of the control agencies of the regime embodied for 54 years by the Assad family, indicated as responsible for the systematic violation of human rights.
    In 2012, the 'anti-terrorism law' had replaced the martial law imposed since the 1960s and justified the existence of special courts for the arrest of opponents and dissidents.
    It is estimated that since 2012, more than 150,000 people have ended up in prison in Syria for crimes of opinion.
    Jolani, or Sharaa, announced a list of former Assad functionaries that are now wanted by the HTS for alleged war crimes.
    Assad's British born wife Asma was declared persona non grata in her native London Tuesday and may lose her British citizenship.
    A leading dissident who is a cousin of the former dictator, Ribal Assad, said "the West would do well not to fall into the trap of Jolani's lies, and there is a real risk of a theocracy being formed".
    Premier Giorgia Meloni told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the phone Tuesday that Syria's unity must be preserved, stressing the need for a peaceful and inclusive transition to bolster regional stability.
    "The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, had a telephone conversation today with the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on the latest developments in the situation in Syria," her office at Palazzo Chigi said.
    "The conversation allowed Premier Meloni to reiterate the importance of preserving the unity and territorial integrity of Syria and of ensuring a peaceful and inclusive transition that can also contribute to regional stability".
    Meloni "also underlined the absolute necessity of guaranteeing the safety of civilians and protecting all minorities present in Syria, including the Christian one," the Chigi statement said.
    "In light of the rapid evolution of the situation on the ground," the statement read, "the two leaders agreed to remain in close contact".
    Erdogan's office said after the talks that he had calle the the over 300 strikes Israel has carried out to demilitarise Syria and IDF incursions an "aggression that does not contribute to Syria's stability".
    He also said that it was "imperative that Syria is freed from terrorist elements", the Ankara office said.
    According to the Presidency of the Republic in Ankara, Erdogan said that "recent developments have shown how thorough the humanitarian and conscientious policy pursued by Turkey was", stressing "the importance of preserving the territorial integrity of Syria".
    Israel's operation in Syria damaged about 80 percent of Syria's strategic military capabilities and came after years of gathering intelligence: "It was indeed a years-long planned attack," Israeli military sources told Channel 12.
    The IDF allegedly "acted to ensure that strategic military equipment did not fall into the wrong hands," the sources said.
    The Israeli bodies that continue to operate in Syria are the Northern Command, responsible for the mission in the south of the country and the border buffer, the air force and intelligence. (ANSA).