ROME, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Italy may send navy ships to fight migrant traffickers in the Mediterranean off Libya, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Wednesday.
Gentiloni spoke at a joint press conference in Rome with his Libyan counterpart Fayez al-Sarraj.
"Sarraj wrote me a letter a few days ago, requesting technical support with naval units from the Italian government," Italian news agency ANSA quoted Gentiloni as saying.
"The request is being assessed by our defense ministry," Gentiloni said. "The decisions we make will be assessed in agreement with Libya and, first of all, with (the Italian) parliament."
"But I must be very clear that this request could represent a very significant point in the fight" against human traffickers, he said.
"We are fighting against traffickers in conjunction with central and local Libyan authorities," Gentiloni said.
Gentiloni said he also "spoke about this with German Chancellor Angela Merkel a couple of hours ago".
"She confirmed Germany is committed to supporting Italy in the fight against human traffickers and in Italy-Libya cooperation."
Migration is a hot-button issue in Italy ahead of the next general election in spring 2018.
The country's government has been calling on its European partners to help shoulder the burden of hundreds of thousands of incoming refugees fleeing war and famine in Africa and the Middle East.
