Italy's arrest of a German NGO boat captain cannot jeopardise the "solid friendship" between Italy and Germany, president Sergio Mattarella said on Monday during a state visit to Austria.
"The friendship and cooperation that exists between Italy and Germany is so solid that nothing can call it into question," Mattarella stated.
He was speaking at a joint press conference in Vienna after talks with Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen.
Mattarella's comments followed the arrest on Saturday of the SeaWatch3's captain Carola Rackete, who was detained after she defied authorities and docked at the Italian island of Lampedusa's port after nearly three weeks at sea with 40 rescued migrants aboard the Seawatch3.
There have been a series of such standoffs since Italy's hardline interior minister Matteo Salvini closed the country's ports to migrant rescue ships in June last year, refusing to allow migrants ashored unless other states agreed to take a share.
"All these episodes and incidents remind us that the European Union needs to manage the phenomenon of migration in a comprehensive way," Mattarella said.
Italy and Germany are among founder members of the 28-nation EU.
Five European countries including France and Germany agreed on Friday take in the migrants on the Seawatch3, but permission for the Dutch-flagged boat to enter Lampedusa's port and disembark the migrants did not follow.
Salvini called Rackete a criminal on social media and accused her of trying to kill Italian police officers.
