ROME: Italy will let its coast guard ship carrying 177 migrants it rescued on the high seas five days ago dock in Sicily, Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said on Monday, ending a standoff with Malta over where it should disembark.

The European Commis­sion also said it was working on a solution to share out of the migrants aboard the Diciotti with Italy’s EU partners after a request from Italy’s foreign ministry the previous day.

“The Diciotti ship will dock in Catania,” Toninelli said on Twitter without specifying when. “Now Europe must hurry to do its part.” Since taking office in June, Italy’s Interior Minister Mat­teo Salvini and Toninelli have toughened the stance on allowing ships to dock in the country’s ports at a time of rising anti-immigration sentiment in Italy. The Dici­otti picked up 190 migrants on Wednesday from an overcrowded boat.

The coast guard quickly evacuated 13 of them to Italy for medical treatment, but instead of bringing the rest to shore, the Diciotti stayed in international wat­ers while Rome insisted that Malta should take them.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2018