The Hindu : International : Bush asks Italy to end row over officer's killing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 06, 2005

International

International

Bush asks Italy to end row over officer's killing

John Hooper

ROME: U.S. President George Bush made a personal telephone plea on Wednesday to Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, in a bid to end the acrimonious row between the two countries over the killing by American troops of an Italian intelligence officer.

With the two countries standing by conflicting versions of what happened, feelings continued to run high in Italy, where the right is incensed that the Americans have still not apologised for the incident.

One of the Ministers in Mr. Berlusconi's conservative coalition Cabinet said America's account of the killing was ``clearly a lie''.

Source of unease

The affair is a persistent source of discomfort to Italy's pro-American Prime Minister, who has already given signs of wanting to pull out of the coalition.

U.S. President's call came as Mr. Berlusconi was preparing to report to Parliament on Thursday on the shooting at a sitting that is likely to hear renewed Opposition calls for the withdrawal of Italy's 3,000-strong contingent from Iraq.

A statement from the Prime Minister's office said Mr. Bush had a ``long and cordial'' conversation with the Italian leader and offered renewed condolences for the death of Nicola Calipari, foreign operations chief of Italy's military intelligence service.

Commitment

The statement stressed the two countries ``remained firm in their commitment on behalf of the Government and people of Iraq to the reconstruction of a stable Iraq''.

Mr. Calipari was killed at a U.S. checkpoint on March 4 as he was escorting a freed Italian hostage to Baghdad airport to be flown out of Iraq.

According to Italian media reports, some details of his mission were kept from the U.S. authorities because of Washington's opposition to the payment of ransoms. Both sides have dismissed suggestions the killing was deliberate. But last Friday they acknowledged they did not agree on the conclusions of an investigation into the shooting.

The U.S. report cleared the soldiers of any blame, saying Mr. Calipari's car sped towards the checkpoint at almost 100 kmph.

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