ROME - In a stern warning to Washington, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday that Italy would "never endorse" a report on the shooting by US soldiers of an Italian intelligence agent if it was unconvincing.
"If there are differences, they will emerge. But certainly, we will never endorse things that do not convince us," Berlusconi told reporters.
Close allies Italy and the United States are at odds over an investigation into the March 4 shooting that killed Nicola Calipari, who was taking a freed Italian hostage to safety.
The hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, and another intelligence agent were injured in the shooting.
"Our men have investigated the matter and now we have facts," Berlusconi said without revealing any details.
A joint US-Italian team is investigating the incident and has still to formally present its results.
But a US army officer on Monday said the inquiry had concluded that the US soldiers were "not culpable."
The leak infuriated Italians, and Berlusconi immediately demanded explanations from the Washington, which promptly said the inquiry was still ongoing.
Berlusconi singled out the Pentagon as source of tensions over the investigation.
"We understand the difficulties of our counterpart, because the Pentagon has certain positions and the US administration would want these positions to be more flexible."
"I am working with the United States, our allied country, which has internal problems with regard to the Pentagon. We will continue our contacts with the US administration," the prime minister said.
The shooting angered many Italians and increased pressure on Berlusconi's center-right government to pull Italian soldiers out of Iraq -- a highly unpopular war here.
The US army official who leaked the findings said the investigation was concluded about two weeks ago but its release was held up by differences between the US side and the Italians on at least two aspects of the shooting.
They disagreed over the speed at which the vehicle approached the US checkpoint and issues related to how or whether the Italian's rescue mission was communicated to US authorities and passed down the chain of command.
Sgrena called the findings "a slap in the face" and urged the Italian government to reject them.
The US military said the vehicle had approached the checkpoint at a high rate of speed and failed to respond to signals to halt, including hand waving, flashing lights and warning shots.
Sgrena and the other intelligence agent have disputed that account, saying the vehicle was moving at a normal rate of speed and no signals were given.
04/28/2005 12:41 GMT