Rome July 9 (IANS/AKI) Italy is committed to the international missions it is taking part in and there is no danger of the government "withdrawing from the framework of international and European law " Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said on Monday.
"We are fully committed and have no intention of withdrawing from the framework of international and European law " Moavero told reporters at a press conference here with the United Nations envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame.
Referring to Italy s anti-immigrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini s recent called for the closure of Italian ports to vessels engaged in international missions in the Mediterranean Moavero underlined that the EU s current search and rescue mission s rules no longer require migrants to be taken to the nearest port even if it is an Italian one.
"In the context of Operation Themis there is no longer a necessary link with Italy s ports.
"However the during the current transitional period Themis operations are is based on the
mechanism of Triton " he said referring to the EU operation that preceded Themis.
"It is the government s intention to ask the relevant European authorities to implement Themis rules of engagement also from an operational point of view " Moavero said.
Salvini made his call to bar international rescue ships from Italy s ports on Sunday after an Irish naval ship Irish naval ship took 106 saved migrants to the Sicilian port of Messina at the weekend.
Italy s new populist coalition government has set a goal of zero migrant arrivals and Salvini who heads the far-right League party has already banned boats operated by charities from entering Italian ports.

--IANS/AKI
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