US, Italy agree to disagree

2005-04-29 20:35

Rome - Italy and the United States sought Friday to draw a line under a damaging diplomatic row, admitting in a joint statement they could not agree on the findings of an inquiry into the US killing of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq.

The statement issued by the US State Department and the Italian Foreign Ministry said a joint inquiry on the March 4 incident was complete and that "the investigation did not arrive at shared final conclusions".

But it said the two countries remained strong allies despite the differences over the shooting of Nicola Calipari by US troops near Baghdad airport.

In Rome, Italy's Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said a separate inquiry by Italian magistrates would continue despite the disagreement.

"For Italy, the courts now will do everything in their power, obviously backed by the government," Fini said.

"One could not ask the Italian government to sign a reconstruction of events that did not correspond to ours," Fini said.

The foreign minister said the US report would be published "in a few days, and this will make even clearer why the Italian government could not endorse it".

Calipari, 51, was killed as he brought an Italian hostage to safety. The hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, and another Italian agent were wounded when troops at a roadblock opened fire.

Calipari was given a state funeral with full military honours.

Friday's statement immediately sparked calls for Italy to withdraw its 3 300 troops.

"We must now raise our voice and pull out the troops," said Pietro Folena, a communist lawmaker.

Italy and Washington, close allies in the Iraq war, have been at odds over the investigation since a US army officer said on Monday that it had concluded US soldiers were "not culpable" in the shooting.

In a stern retort, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed on Thursday that his country would "never endorse" a report on the shooting that was unconvincing.

The US army said on Monday the inquiry was concluded about two weeks ago but its release was held up by differences between the United States and Italy on at least two aspects of the shooting.

They disagreed over the speed at which the vehicle approached the US checkpoint and issues related to how or whether the Italian's rescue mission was communicated to US authorities and passed down the chain of command, the official said.

Gabriele Polo, editor in chief of Sgrena's newspaper Il Manifesto, praised the Italian government for refusing to sign up to the US version of events.

"On Italy's side it is a courageous choice, I am happy about it," Polo said.

Friday's statement was aimed at smoothing over any tensions between Rome and Washington, stressing that the joint investigation, "carried out in a spirit of strong mutual cooperation, was intense and fruitful".

- AFP