EU takes distance from Italian-Indian diplomatic row
See related piece - Italian ambassador has 'lost' immunity
18 March, 13:16
(see related) (ANSA) - Brussels, March 18 - The European Union
distanced itself on Monday from the festering diplomatic row
between Italy and India, which worsened last week when Italy
announced two Italian marines visiting home would not be
returned to India to face trial when their leave expired in late
March.The EU's high representative for foreign affairs Catherine Ashton told ANSA in a note that European Union is not part of the legal dispute between Italy and India and thus can not take a position with respect to the legal arguments on the substance of the case.
Ashton encouraged Italy and India to find a "mutually satisfactory" and "friendly solution" based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas and international law.
The Supreme Court in New Delhi on Monday extended its order for Italian Ambassador Daniele Mancini to stay in Indian territory, and said Mancini had "automatically lost" his diplomatic immunity by signing a guarantee that the marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, would return to India to face charges including killing two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala during an anti-priacy mission last year.
Photo: EU's high representative for foreign affairs Catherine Ashton
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