Group of Eight leaders will not face earthquake risks at July's G8 summit in the Abruzzo capital of L'Aquila, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Wednesday.
Frattini said the police barracks that will host the summit and where leaders will stay had been constructed according to anti-quake building norms and was ''able to stand up to quakes much stronger'' than the 5.8 Richter magnitude quake that devastated the area in April, killing 300 and leaving 60,000 homeless.
Frattini's comments came a day after Civil Protection chief Guido Bertolaso said he could not guarantee that ''there will not be earthquakes during the G8'' as aftershocks rumble on in the region three months after the killer quake.
Bertolaso also stressed the strength of the barracks, which were not damaged in April.
''To cause problems there would need to be an earthquake (of a magnitude) that has never before been recorded in L'Aquila's history in the memory of humankind,'' he said.
Hundreds of people left their newly repaired homes in L'Aquila Monday night and slept in their cars after a 4.5 Richter magnitude quake revived memories of the April quake.
No one was hurt but some parts of shaky buildings are being inspected.
Premier Silvio Berlusconi has promised the homeless will be given permanent homes before winter.
He moved the July 8-10 Group of Eight summit to the city to help boost morale and get the local economy back on its feet.
