The Indian Premier, Manmohan Singh, “has assured me that he will make every effort on the Indian side for the release of Paolo Bosusco, still in the hands of Maoist rebels, now that Colangelo has been freed”. The up-date was given by Prime Minister Mario Monti after the bilateral meeting with his Indian colleague, Singh, in the margins of the nuclear summit in Seoul.
Monti and Singh also discussed the case of the two Italian servicemen held in India. The Italian Prime Minister explained that he had reiterated to his Indian colleague that Italy’s view is, and remains, that the case comes under Italian jurisdiction. Every possible step must be taken to ensure that it does not undermine peacekeeping operations against piracy.
Prime Minister Singh, reported Monti, “has assured me of his determination to ensure that the conditions of the two Italians are appropriate to their military status. But he assured me above all that he will personally pursue the goal of finding an amicable solution to this difficult human problem and will explore all possible roads, with due respect, obviously, for the independence of India’s judicial powers”. Monti added that he and Singh will keep in close contact in the search for a suitable solution. In the meantime, Under-Secretary Staffan De Mistura will be returning to India in a few days time.
Monti and Singh are in Seoul for the second nuclear summit, along with around 50 other world leaders and senior figures from 4 international organisations. The agenda includes an up-date on the actions decided in Washington in 2010 to prevent nuclear terrorism and guarantee the security of nuclear materials. It also envisages an acceleration of new commitments to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism and illegal trafficking.
The final communiqué, which should be issued on 27 March, will mention important principles regarding nuclear security and 11 key tasks, as well as more detailed action plans to achieve them, reported the South Korean Foreign Minister, Kim Sung-Hwan.
Prime Minister Monti underscored that the Fukushima incident in Japan last year has demonstrated that “the global consequence of a nuclear incident know no boundaries. We must therefore continue to work to ensure that national sovereignty is not a barrier to the adoption of common rules and more stringent international standards, or to transparency, the exchange of information, and the adoption of obligatory international review mechanisms. We must work, too, to ensure that the central role of the IAEA is recognised”.
