Italy says NATO three months from Libya coast mission

Rome — NATO is three months away from launching patrols off Libya as part of a plan to stop migrants arriving in Italy, Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti said in an interview published Monday. Pinotti told daily La Stampa that Rome was expecting its allies to approve the plan at a summit of NATO leaders in Warsaw on July 7. The mission would be part of a broader Italian plan to close the Western Mediterranean route into the European Union based on the return of so-called economic migrants to their countries of origin. “At the NATO level we have asked for Operation Active Endeavour to be recalibrated from an anti-terrorist operation in the Eastern Mediterranean to one which oversees the Libyan coast,” Pinotti said. “During the recent meeting we had in Luxembourg, Secretary General (Jens) Stoltenberg told me that the proposal had been welcomed.” Asked if she expected a green light for the operation at the Warsaw summit, Pinotti replied: “Yes, certainly for the coordination of missions in the Mediterranean. At this summit the proposal should become an effective decision.” — AFP