The Italian Foreign Minister, Mr Lamberto Dini, said yesterday that Kurdish guerrilla leader Mr Abdullah Ocalan should not be granted political asylum and Germany should seek his extradition or risk compromising international efforts against terrorism.
Speaking on state television RAI, Mr Dini said international law did not allow political asylum where crimes had been committed such as those attributed to the detained Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader.
Turkey blames the PKK and Mr Ocalan - who applied for political asylum after he was arrested on arrival in Rome from Moscow on November 12th - for more than 29,000 deaths caused by both sides in a Kurdish campaign for self-rule in Turkey's south-east.
"I rule out asylum, as there is no basis for it," Mr Dini said. Mr Ocalan's case "concerns voluntary terrorist acts. We are not dealing with a victim. Political asylum is granted when a person is persecuted for his ideas," Mr Dini was quoted as saying in an interview with Milan daily Corriere della Sera.
An Italian court ruled last week that Mr Ocalan should be detained in Rome because of an outstanding international arrest warrant issued by German prosecutors. The court made clear Italy could not accept an arrest warrant and extradition request for Mr Ocalan by Turkey - where the PKK chief could face the death penalty - and the Italian government has been waiting to see if Bonn asks for him to be handed over.
Germany, which wants to avoid confrontation between its 1.5 million immigrant Turks and 500,000 Kurds by putting Mr Ocalan on trial, has been footdragging in the case, risking damage to relations between the two Social Democratic governments.
The German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, said he would spell out his country's position on Mr Ocalan during talks with Italian Prime Minister Mr Massimo D'Alema in Brussels today.
Mr Ocalan's asylum request has divided Mr D'Alema's centre-left government, while forces in the centre-right opposition bloc have demanded he be expelled from the country. The decision is up to an independent commission of experts in the Interior Ministry and is likely to take several weeks.
"It's one of the hardest cases we've ever had and we will make our decision completely independently from the government," Mr Sergio Mustillo, president of the commission, said.
Before collapsing in a censure vote on corruption on Wednesday, the Turkish government had ceased insisting on Mr Ocalan's extradition and said it would be satisfied if the PKK leader was prosecuted under international law against terrorism and tried in a third country such as Italy or Germany.
Meanwhile, in Ankara, the Turkish caretaker Prime Minister, Mr Mesut Yilmaz, said yesterday he had detected a shift in Europe's opposition to Turkey's efforts to bring Mr Ocalan to trial.
"I am pleased to see the Italian government very slowly turning away from the mistaken position it took up at the beginning. Germany is also showing clear signs of flexibility," Mr Yilmaz said.
Mr Yilmaz's minority government was overturned on Wednesday. He has agreed to stay on as Prime Minister until a new government can be put together from a fractured parliament.
Mr Yilmaz said a widespread boycott of Italian goods was a popular movement and not ordered by the government. The EU has warned that an official boycott would violate trade deals and could lead to retaliation.
Meanwhile, President Suleyman Demirel yesterday that the day before voted Mesut Yilmaz' minority government out of office.
Under Turkey's constitution, the president must appoint a new leader to try and form a government.
Ten parties are represented in Turkey's 550-seat parliament, despite a threshold that requires groups to win at least 10 per cent of votes in an election before they can gain seats.