Italy's president Sergio Mattarella said on Wednesday that two Italian marines accused by India of killing of two fishermen had his and their country's unwavering support.
"My thoughts go out to the mission of Girone and Latorre, who were also involved in protecting our merchant ships," Mattarella said during a visit to a Carabiniere frigate in Oman deployed in a European Union anti-piracy mission.
"I renew my and Italy's support for them. I will be truly pleased when I can meet them together in Italy".
The drawn-out case of the Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who are accused of shooting dead two unarmed fishermen off southern India in February 2012 during an anti-piracy mission, has strained relations between Italy and India.
A long series of delays prompted Italy to take the case to international arbitration. In August, the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled India had no jurisdiction in the case and referred it to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Meanwhile, Girone is not allowed to leave India and is staying at the Italian embassy in New Delhi, while Latorre was granted leave to return to Italy last year after he had a stroke.
The marines are accused of killing the two fishermen off the coast of Kerala on 15 February, 2012 while guarding an Italian oil tanker Enrica Lexie.
In April 2012, Italy paid 190,000 dollars compensation to each of the fishermen's families who in return dropped their cases against the marines.
