Italy has never sought to end the European Union's Sofia Mediterranean migrant search and rescue mission but wants changes to its rules requiring all migrants to be landed at Italian ports, foreign minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said on Wednesday.
"Italy has never asked for Sofia to be shut down," Moavero said in a statement. "It has asked for the mission's current rules on disembarking migrants rescued at sea to be changed."
"The European Council meeting of heads of state and government (conclusions) last June called on EU states to fully share the burden of migration," the statement ended.
Moavero's remarks came after Italy's anti-migrant interior minister and deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini said the Italian-led Sofia mission would end if its operational rules were not changed.
Germany on Tuesday said it was suspending its participation in Sofia due to the populist Italian government's closure of its ports to rescued migrants and its reluctance to take in any more, according to several local media outlets.
Currently commanded by Italian Rear Admiral Enrico Credentino, Sophia's core mandate is to help the EU smash migrant smuggling networks.
Headquartered in Rome, Italy, the mission was launched on 22 June 2015.
