Italy has expressed happiness over the “transparency” shown by India in allowing a joint probe of weapons used by its marines in killing two Indian fishermen.
The ballistic inspection aboard detained freighter Enrica Lexie, scheduled on Saturday by both Indian and Italian experts, is significant viewed from the perspective of transparency in the investigation process, Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Staffan de Mistura told his Indian interlocutors here after returning from Kochi, said government sources.
He said his country attached great importance to bilateral ties and agreed with Indian sentiments of isolating this incident. He hoped Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi's visit early next week would be viewed from the context of strong bilateral relations between the two countries.
During the interaction, India stuck to its position of letting the law of the land sort out the dispute and cited the court's ruling allowing two Italian ballistic experts to join the Kerala police in investigating the weapons. This meets Italy's desire to ascertain the fairness of the police's investigation into the crime.
The Italian Minister later spoke to journalists and thanked the Indian authorities, especially Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, for their hospitality. He also thanked Indian lawyers, who are working on the defence side. “Allowing Italian forensic experts is a good sign,” he said.
