Italy, Malta in diplomatic spat over migrant arrivals

ROME: Italy’s new hardline interior minister Matteo Salvini engaged in a war of words with the Maltese government after accusing the Mediterranean island of not doing its fair share to take in migrants.

“The good God put Malta closer to Africa than Sicily,” said the nationalist Salvini, as a new wave of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean prepared to land in Italy.

“It is not possible for Malta to say ‘no’ to any request for help,” he continued.

Salvini’s comments came after Malta reportedly refused to come to the aid of a migrant rescue ship Seefuchs, which was stranded with 119 migrants onboard in the Mediterranean due to violent sea conditions.

The ship had embarked on a mission coordinated by the Italian coastguard to rescue migrants aboard a dinghy in distress. But after evacuating the dinghy, the Seefuchs was forced to call for assistance from a bigger vessel, unable to navigate in the deteriorating weather conditions without putting the migrants’ lives in danger.

According to the German NGO Sea-Watch, which attempted in vain to assist the Seefuchs due to the adverse conditions, Valletta refused to offer assistance, apart from agreeing to accept medical evacuations by air. The Maltese government was quick to deny it had done anything wrong.

“With regards to Search and Rescue, Malta acts in accordance to the international conventions that apply,” the government said in a statement. — AFP