Italian PM comments on G-7, US, China, Libya

Leading industrialized nations need to be "frank" with China and other autocracies, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said at the end of the G-7 summit in England on Sunday.

"It is fundamental to be frank about what we do not agree about, and about what we do not accept," Draghi said.

He added that U.S. President Joe Biden said at some point during the meetings that "silence is complicity."

Draghi said talks also focused on the situation in North Africa, particularly Libya, with leaders agreeing that "soldiers, the combatants, the mercenaries of other countries should leave Libya" in order to implement the cease-fire in the country.

Following the G-7 meeting, Draghi will head to Brussels to attend a NATO summit where he will also meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the first time since he labeled Erdogan a dictator in April.

Draghi made the remark when he was asked to comment on a perceived seating snub involving Erdogan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was left without a chair during a meeting in Ankara.

"The role of Turkey is very important," Draghi said at the G-7 news conference. "Turkey wants to, and must stay a reliable partner in NATO, so these rumors about it to be drifting away from NATO have no basis."