The Coast Guard's Diciotti ship
carrying 177 rescued migrants will dock at Catania, Transport
Minister Danilo Toninelli said Monday.
"The gallant men of the coast guard," he tweeted, "performed
their duty saving human lives just 17 miles from Lampedusa".
He added: "Now Europe must swiftly play its part."
Earlier, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the ship would
be allowed to land in Italy if the European Union does its bit
to redistribute the migrants.
Meanwhile the Italian foreign ministry "officially and
formally" requested the intervention of the EU.
The Diciotti picked up the migrants last week after they were
spotted in Maltese waters and Salvini has stressed they must be
spread across the EU if the ship is to land in Italy.
Otherwise, he has said, they will be sent back to Libya.
Salvini said on Italian TV: "the ship may land in Italy, as
long as the 177 migrants are distributed, in a spirit of
solidarity by the EU, which is made up of 27 countries".
"Let them pay us this courtesy to play their part, given that
we have taken in more than 700,000 people who came by sea".
He reiterated the intention of sending the 177 back to Libya
unless the EU does its bit.
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