Posted on 01/29/2003 2:00:05 PM PST by knighthawk
ROME: Italy said Wednesday it has given the United States permission to use its bases for refuelling and other "technical" needs in a possible war with Iraq - one of the few concrete military offers from Europe and another sign of Italy's support for Washington's hard line against Baghdad.
At the same time, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Italy wanted to give more time to U.N. weapons inspectors to disarm Iraq peacefully and give Baghdad a final chance to comply with U.N. resolutions.
The developments came hours before Premier Silvio Berlusconi's scheduled meetings with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the strongest U.S. ally in Europe, and U.S. President George W. Bush. Next week, the Italian leader travels to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid suggestions he might try mediate, or at least act as a messenger, between Washington and Moscow.
"On the eve of the visit of Silvio Berlusconi with President Bush ... America asks if Italy could be a bridge between the two lines: those who want war with Iraq, and those who refuse," the Italian daily Corriere della Sera said Wednesday.
The conservative Berlusconi has been a staunch Bush ally since coming to power in May 2001 and has also developed a personal friendship with Putin - visiting him at his Black Sea residence last year and hosting Putin's teenage daughters at his Sardinia estate.
Berlusconi also spoke by telephone Tuesday to French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who along with Putin have resisted the U.S. threats to go to war.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told state-run RAI television that Washington would welcome Italy's participation in any coalition against Iraq, and mentioned reconstruction help and combat troops when asked what Italy might contribute.
Defense Minister Antonio Martino, meanwhile, advised Parliament that Italy has given U.S. aircraft the right to land on Italian bases to refuel and for other "technical" reasons in the event of a war.
In a letter to Parliament's defence committees, Martino said the move was a way to increase pressure on Baghdad so that it cooperates with U.N. weapons inspections, disarms peacefully and "avoids the outbreak of hostilities."
Earlier this month, Martino told Parliament that Italy had agreed to a U.S. request to allow U.S. fighters to use Italian airspace in the event of a war, based on previous agreements. Martino stressed Wednesday that the decision to allow U.S. aircraft to refuel at Italian bases was an evolution of that agreement.
Regardless, Italy is one of only a few European countries to have made concrete military offers.
Spain has said the United States could use its military bases if armed intervention in Iraq was "inevitable," although it hasn't clarified whether that covered unilateral U.S. action. The Netherlands has offered airstrips, harbours, military bases and airspace if an attack were authorized by the United Nations.
Lithuania and Slovakia, meanwhile, have agreed to open their airspace, and Estonia and Latvia were expected to do the same. Albania has indicated a readiness to follow suit, U.S. officials in Tirana say, and Germany has granted overflight rights for U.S. aircraft to reach U.S. bases in Germany.
The United States also has an air base in Portugal's Azores Islands, although is use for military action must be authorized by the United Nations.
Despite the strong support of the government on Iraq, Italy remains divided. Surveys show 75 percent of Italians favour allowing inspectors to finish their work in Iraq, and opposition lawmakers put forward a motion Wednesday to cancel the agreements allowing the United States use of Italian airspace and bases.
In addition, Frattini's speech to Parliament was suspended when protesters threw leaflets in the chamber that read "Vote Against War."
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