Italian foreign minister raps Bush over Afghanistan plea

May 22, 2007, 13:55 GMT

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.