ROME, April 26: The US ambassador to Italy was summoned for urgent talks with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday after a US military investigation found its soldiers “not culpable” in the friendly-fire killing of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq.

Ambassador Mel Sembler met Mr Berlusconi and senior Italian officials during the afternoon, a US official said in Rome, amid intense diplomatic contacts to avoid a clash between the two allies over the report.

“We’re still talking about it and it’s still possible we can come to a shared result,” the US official said.

The joint report into the March 4 shooting has not been released. However, details released by the US army said the soldiers “were not culpable of dereliction of duty in following their procedures”.

There has been no reaction from the Italian government, but the journalist wounded in the shooting said the findings were “a slap in the face” and she urged a strong reaction from the Rome government.—AFP