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Italy minister in India for talks on fishermen deaths Italy marines to face Indian law, says minister
(about 6 hours later)
Italy's junior foreign minister is due to meet Indian officials in the capital, Delhi, amid a diplomatic row over the killing of two fishermen. Two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen will be tried according to Indian law, deputy foreign minister Preneet Kaur has said.
Staffan De Mistura will meet India's junior foreign minister Praneet Kaur later on Wednesday, officials say. She spoke after talks with her Italian counterpart Steffan de Mistura.
Two members of an Italian navy security team accused in the shooting of the fishermen have been taken into custody. The two marines were on board an Italian oil tanker off southern India.
Italy says the fishing boat behaved aggressively and ignored warning shots fired from the Italian oil tanker. Italy says as the incident took place in international waters the men should be tried in Italy. Officials say the fishing boat was behaving aggressively and was mistaken for a pirate vessel.
Italian officials have asked the High Court in the state of Kerala to throw out the murder charges against the two marines.
The marines were detained on Sunday and remanded in custody for two weeks as the murder investigation against them continues.
'Terribly sad'
"As far as the law point is concerned," Ms Kaur said, "they have their interpretations and we have our interpretations.
"As of today, the two people [Italian marines] are on Indian soil and tomorrow the Indian court is going to decide what steps are to be taken further," she said.
"So far as we are concerned in India, we certainly will go by our law."
Mr Mistura expressed his regret over the two Indian fishermen's deaths, but said there were legal points that needed to be clarified, including the exact position of the ship when the two men died.
"We do acknowledge that two Indian citizens died... and we are terribly sad. The second one is that is that the incident took place in international waters and at the same time the investigations will assert the exact position," he said.
"We all want the truth," he added.
Italy's defence ministry has said the fishing boat was behaving aggressively and ignored warning shots fired from the Italian oil tanker.
They said they opened fire after mistaking the fishermen for pirates. India said the fishermen were unarmed.They said they opened fire after mistaking the fishermen for pirates. India said the fishermen were unarmed.
The incident took place off the coast of the southern state of Kerala last Wednesday. The incident took place off the coast of Kerala last Wednesday.
It has sparked a major diplomatic row between the two countries, with Indian police opening a murder inquiry into the deaths. It sparked a major diplomatic row between the two countries. The Italian foreign ministry has said Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi will also visit Delhi next week to discuss the issue.
Indian Defence Minister AK Antony has described the killings as "very serious" and an "unfortunate incident".
'Coercive action'
Junior Foreign Minister Staffan De Mistura will "continue on a political level the action so far carried out by a delegation of experts from the Italian foreign, defence and justice ministries", the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
It said Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi will also visit Delhi next week to discuss the issue.
The foreign ministry also said that Indian police had taken "coercive" and "unilateral" action on Sunday when they escorted the two soldiers off the oil tanker where they were deployed as security guards and arrested them, news agency AFP reported.
The marines - identified as Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone - were detained on Sunday from the Italian ship Enrica Lexie and produced at the magistrate's court on Monday. They have been remanded in custody for two weeks.
A delegation of experts from Italy's foreign, defence and justice ministries has already visited Delhi to discuss the case with Indian officials, but the two sides have so far been unable to resolve their differences.A delegation of experts from Italy's foreign, defence and justice ministries has already visited Delhi to discuss the case with Indian officials, but the two sides have so far been unable to resolve their differences.
The Italian foreign ministry also said that Indian police had taken "coercive" and "unilateral" action on Sunday when they escorted the two marines off the oil tanker where they were deployed as security guards and arrested them, news agency AFP reported.
Italy insists that its personnel cannot be charged under Indian law. It says the marines have immunity as the tanker was flying an Italian flag and was in international waters when the incident happened.Italy insists that its personnel cannot be charged under Indian law. It says the marines have immunity as the tanker was flying an Italian flag and was in international waters when the incident happened.
But India wants the marines to be tried under local laws and has registered a case of murder against the men, who could face the death penalty or life imprisonment if they are found guilty. The marines have been identified as Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone.
The Enrica Lexie was on its way from Singapore to Egypt, with a crew of 34, including 19 Indians. The Italians say the crew members fired in self-defence - after initially firing warning shots - because they feared their vessel was about to be attacked. The Enrica Lexie was on its way from Singapore to Egypt, with a crew of 34, including 19 Indians.
Indian officials say they are surprised at the shooting, maintaining that the fishermen did nothing to threaten the Italian ship.
A senior official in Kerala, PG Thomas, said the attack was unwarranted as there were "no weapons on the trawler".
Indian officials said nine of the 11 fishermen in the trawler were asleep and the two victims were steering it when the incident happened.
Following the incident, the Indian coastguard sent two boats and an aircraft to intercept the ship which is now anchored off the port of Kochi.
The Kerala state government has authorised a payment of 500,000 rupees ($10,125; £6,450) each to the dead fishermen's families.
Piracy has emerged as a major threat to merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, with Somali pirates hijacking ships and their crews for ransom.
But there have been fewer attacks recently, partly because more armed guards are now deployed on board ships.