Italy to press for deadline on Libya campaign

Italy yesterday said it would press its partners to set a deadline for the Nato-led campaign in Libya, amid a stalemate in the conflict on the ground and doubts about further Western action.

Italy “will try, together with international organisations like Nato and with its allies, to set a deadline,” said Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, speaking ahead of a meeting of the International Contact Group on Libya in Rome tomorrow. Referring to the upcoming meeting, Mr Frattini was quoted by Italy’s Ansa news agency as saying that the talks would aim to set out “a roadmap for a ceasefire and for a constitutional assembly of Libyan reconciliation”.

The Italian Parliament is set to approve a motion today calling on the government to set a deadline on Italy’s participation in the military campaign and to exclude any future use of ground troops.

A draft of the statement calls for “a definite timeline for the conclusion of targeted action against military installations on Libyan territory, in accordance with international organisations and allied countries”.

It also urges the government to “begin immediately a decisive and strong political initiative on the international stage to find a diplomatic solution” and says Italy must exclude any possible use of ground troops in the future.

It rules out “any further tax increases to finance the mission.”

The oulines of the non-binding statement were approved at a meeting yesterday of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling coalition in a bid to heal a rift sparked by the government’s decision to take part in air strikes.

The Northern League, a junior but influential partner of Mr Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party, had called for a deadline to be set on Italy’s participation in the conflict, as well as a cap on financing for military operations.

Mr Berlusconi had built up close ties with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddai in recent years and Italy was Libya’s top trade partner before the outbreak of the conflict.