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Italy has asked the allied forces in Iraq to guarantee the security of foreign reporters housed in Baghdad, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, the American-British allied shelling of the Hotel Palestine left two people dead and at least three injured.
Speaking at a news conference in the northern city of Brescia, Berlusconi said he had instructed Italian diplomats to obtain guarantees on the security of "all the reporters, not just Italians, involved in covering the war from Baghdad."
"We've all seen the suffering caused by war. It's obvious that we're all hoping that the war ends quickly," he said.
Referring to post-war reconstruction, the Italian premier said he had discussed the issue with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who asked that Italy take part in the effort.
Berlusconi said he favored Italian participation in the reconstruction process but stressed that this would take place only after the government gets the green light from parliament.
Berlusconi said that he believed Italy would have a role in the post-war process, as it now has in Afghanistan where it is deploying more than 1,000 peace-keepers.
Meanwhile, sources in the premier's office said Berlusconi had also discussed the conflict with his Spanish counterpart Jose' Maria Aznar during a 15-minute phone call Tuesday.
(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2003)
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