France has said it will take some
migrants from the NGO migrant rescue ship Ocean Viking which has
been stalled at sea for 13 days with 356 migrants aboard after
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini denied it entry into Italian
waters under his hardline closed-ports policy.
But Paris said the principle of sailing to the nearest safe
port, in this case on the Italian island of Lampedusa or Malta,
could not be called into question.
"They must find a close port for landing for the Ocean
Viking, logically Italy or Malta," the Elysée Palace said
Wednesday night.
The Ocean Viking is run by the French NGO SOS Mediterranée
and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
"(The migrants) have already suffered enough," MSF said
Thursday.
The case is the latest standoff between Salvini and NGO-run
rescue ships.
The Spanis-NGO run Open Arms ship was allowed to land its 100
or so migrants at Lampedusa after an Italian prosecutor found
there was a hygiene emergency on board.
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