The German charity boat Lifeline will be allowed to dock in Malta with 230 migrants aboard - after five days of limbo in international waters - and some will be transferred to Italy, premier Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday after talking to his Maltese counterpart Joseph Muscat.
"I have just spoken to Muscat: the Lifeline vessel will dock in Malta," Conte said in a statement.
"Italy will play its part and will take in some of the migrants aboard the Lifeline, in the hope that other European countries will do the same," the statement added.
A cargo ship entered the Sicilian port of Pozzallo earlier Tuesday with 108 rescued migrants on board, ending a four-day stand-off between European officials after Italy's hardline interior minister Matteo Salvini blocked the vessel - as in the case of the Lifeline.