(ANSA) - Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini reiterated on Monday that the withdrawal of 300 troops from Iraq in September was already scheduled and in no way linked to the London terrorist attacks in London.
Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who made the announcement at the end of the G8 summit in Gleneagles on Friday, has stressed that the initial withdrawal had been coordinated with allies and Iraqi officials.
"There is no link between Premier Berlusconi's announcement of the gradual pullout and the London bomb attacks," Fini told reporters after talks with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.
Berlusconi had already complained during the weekend that the Italian press had blown the news out of proportion. "I don't understand why this is headline news. It's simply that we are following through with what had already been decided and had been announced over and over again,"the premier said on Saturday.
Berlusconi said the government remains committed to operations in Iraq and that Italy will not be pushed into withdrawing its 3,000-strong contingent despite the threats of terrorist actions. "The situation has not changed. The mission in Iraq will carry on, according to the terms fixed by the United Nations. Commitments must be respected," he said.
Fini said Italy was "aware of the risks it runs" and was taking every "necessary measure to prevent, identify and combat possible dangers."
"Italy is a potential terrorist target as much any other country. In the last few years, terrorists have shown they can strike anywhere in the world. But there is no need to spark alarm, as much as there is no reason not to proceed with conviction and determination."
The foreign minister stressed that the "indispensable" element in combating terrorism is cooperation among nations.
