Italy urged the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to consider holding an international peace summit for Afghanistan in a bid to get regional powers committed to lasting stability.
"We can and must do more in Afghanistan. We must be ambitious," Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told the Security Council in a speech, adding that the Afghan people "deserve our support".
"We must be open to the possibility of an international conference," he added.
Italy, which currently holds one of the semi-permanent seats in the Security Council, has been calling for a summit on Afghanistan for several months.
It envisages a UN-backed meeting involving regional powers such as Pakistan, India and Iran.
There have been "significant successes" in Afghanistan but "progress is insufficient in too many areas", D'Alema said, citing security, economic development, human rights as key areas for attention.
The Security Council should think about a process that would allow the "full involvement of neighbouring countries" in resolving these problems, D'Alema said.
One of the objectives of an international summit would be to set up cooperation ventures between Afghanistan and its neighbours.
D'Alema's address to the UN Security Council was part of a debate leading up to a vote later this week on the continuation of the UN's civilian mission in Afghanistan.
On the eve of his appearance at UN headquarters, the minister met United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington to discuss key international issues, including Afghanistan.
Reporting on the talks on Tuesday, D'Alema said Rice had been "willing to seriously consider the possibility" of the conference Italy was proposing. A state department spokesman confirmed later that the idea was seen as a "constructive proposal".
"There is a broad consensus on the need to strengthen the political commitment, through economic and civilian initiatives, and to avoid letting the NATO mission become isolated on the basis of the illusion that the solution can come mainly on a military level," D'Alema said.
SUPPORT FOR PROPOSAL.
Italy has recently won important support for the peace summit proposal. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is currently duty president of the European Union, said at a press conference in Rome on Monday night that Germany "supports" the idea.
A week ago Russian President Vladimir Putin also gave his green light during a visit to Rome in which "multilateral" approaches were prescribed on a range of international questions.
Italian Premier Romano Prodi has said repeatedly that a "political" approach is needed alongside the military one in Afghanistan and has discussed it with Afghan Premier Hamid Karzai.
Part of Prodi's centre-left alliance has gone a step further by backing a suggestion that Taliban delegates should also attend any international summit on Afghanistan.
The proposal, which came initially from Democratic Left chief Piero Fassino, has been backed by many leftwingers in the governing alliance, including the Communist Deputy Foreign Minister Patrizia Sentinelli.
But the idea of having the Taliban at the negotiating table has also sparked polemics. It has been branded "indecent" by the centre right opposition which said that it would "offend the dignity of the legitimate Afghan authorities".
Criticism has also come from the centrist portion of Prodi's coalition. Prodi himself has so far avoided commenting while D'Alema has said it is up to the Afghan government to decide who to invite to a peace conference.
'NO MORE SOLDIERS'.
Italy has about 2,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) that has been in the country since 2003 on a UN-mandated mission to help the national government maintain security.
An upsurge in attacks by Taliban rebels in southern regions has recently prompted NATO to unleash the biggest offensive since the 2001 war that toppled the Islamists.
D'Alema admitted to journalists in New York that guerrilla attacks are moving ever closer to Herat, where 750 Italian soldiers are based.
"Unfortunately I don't think they're in a good situation. We're going to be facing some difficult moments," he said.
Shortly after he spoke, news reached Rome that an Italian soldier had been wounded in an incident in the Herat area.
The minister confirmed Italy would not send any more troops to Afghanistan or change the rules of engagement under which they operate.
