The Coast Guard's Diciotti ship
carrying 177 rescued migrants will be able to land in Italy if
the European Union dies its bit to redistribute the migrants,
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Monday.
The Diciotti picked up the migrants last week after they were
spotted in Maltese waters and Salvini has stressed they must be
spread across the EU if the ship is to land in Italy.
Otherwise, he has said, they will be sent back to Libya.
Salvini said on Italian TV: "the ship may land in Italy, as
long as the 177 migrants are distributed, in a spirit of
solidarity by the EU, which is made up of 27 countries".
"Let them pay us this courtesy to play their part, given that
we have taken in more than 700,000 people who came by sea".
He reiterated the intention of sending the 177 back to Libya
unless the EU does its bit.
The Diciotti is now heading for the port of Pozzallo in
Sicily, sources said.
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