Premier Matteo Renzi said
Tuesday he had "vainly" tried to get a political deal with India
over the case of two Italian marines accused by New Delhi of
killing two Indian fishermen during an anti-piracy mission in
2012.
The case of Salvatore Girone and Massimilano Latorre has
strained relations between Rome and New Delhi and Italy has
taken the case to international arbitration after a long series
of delays.
"There were many opportunities to end it swiftly but that
was not done," Renzi said at his end-of-year press conference.
"I tried a political accord with Premier (Narendra) Modi,
who told me 'I, like you, found this affair on my table', but in
the end the only practicable path was that of putting the
question to an international tribunal," Renzi said.
In August the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the
Law of the Sea stated that India has no jurisdiction over the
case, and put the case up to the International Court of Justice
in The Hague.
The Indian supreme court has suspended all judicial
proceedings regarding the two Italian marines in compliance with
the Hamburg court's ruling and is due to reassess the situation
in January.
Girone is not allowed to leave India and is staying at the
Italian embassy in New Delhi.
India granted Latorre leave to return to Italy last year
after he suffered a stroke.
The marines are accused of killing fishermen Valentine (aka
Gelastine) and Ajesh Binki after allegedly mistaking them for
pirates and opening fire on their fishing trawler while guarding
the privately owned Italian-flagged oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie
off the coast of Kerala on February 15, 2012.
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