Italian diplomats posted in missions around the world went on strike yesterday to protest government austerity cuts aimed at bringing the public deficit under control.

The cuts in the ministry’s budget “will trigger a process at the end of which Italy could actually find itself – not only symbolically – outside of the world,” a statement by the diplomats’ main union Sindame said.

The one-day strike affected operations at the foreign ministry headquarters in Rome while Italy’s 325 embassies, consulates and cultural institutes around the world were only open for essential services, the statement said.

The strike comes on the eve of a gathering of Italian ambassadors at a two-day conference in Rome.

In a letter to the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi last week, diplomats said the cuts would cause “the gradual paralysis” of the ministry.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini himself recently said he had seen “absurd rules” in the Bill, such as promotions without raises.

Meanwhile, on a separate note, Mr Frattini warned yesterday of disquiet in Mediterranean countries after BP announced new deepwater drilling off Libya.

“Everybody is watching closely what BP is doing since the worrying events in the Gulf of Mexico,” Mr Frattini told a news conference following talks with European Union counterparts in Brussels.

However, Mr Frattini said any action relating to the exploration work near the Sicilian coast would have to be taken up by the Mediterranean Union, which groups rim countries from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.