France pours oil on tiff

– France is “perfectly aware” of the pressure on Italy as it copes with an influx of migrants from Africa, the foreign ministry said yesterday, and is “committed to cooperation and dialogue” on the issue.

The comment came amid an escalating row between the two countries after France criticised Italy’s decision at the weekend to turn away a rescue boat carrying about 900 migrants.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has suggested that Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte should cancel a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron tomorrow unless Paris apologises. – AFP