Rome - Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema reproached
US President George W Bush on Tuesday, saying the actions of Italy's
peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan were only answerable to
parliament.
D'Alema, who was in Kabul on Monday and in Islamabad on Tuesday,
had been asked by reporters to comment on a plea made by Bush to
fellow NATO members for them to play a greater role in the fight
against Taliban insurgents.
'We do not need to reply to anyone. We are answerable to
parliament and our armed forces act on the basis of decisions made by
parliament, not others,' D'Alema was quoted as saying.
Speaking after a meeting Monday with NATO Secretary General Jaap
de Hoop Scheffer, Bush had said his administration would work with
its NATO allies 'to convince them that they must share more of the
burden and must all share the risks' involved in fighting the
Taliban.
D'Alema said he would be happy to discuss any such requests with
Bush in person when he visits Rome next month.
Afghanistan is a sensitive subject for Italy's centre-left ruling
coalition.
The Romano Prodi government nearly collapsed earlier this year
because of opposition from dissident leftwing lawmakers to its
decision to extend the country's peacekeeping mission there by one
more year.
The government has also come under fire from NATO allies for
allegedly cutting a deal with the insurgents to secure the release of
an Italian reporter, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, kidnapped by guerrilla
fighters in the Helmand province in early March.
Italy has just under 2,000 soldiers taking part in NATO-led
Enduring Freedom operations in Afghanistan. They are not engaged in
regular combat and operate in mostly peaceful areas in western
Afghanistan and east of the capital Kabul.
Thousands of Italian pacifists and far-left supporters are
planning to stage protest marches when Bush visits Rome on June 9.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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