Italy wants a United Nations arms embargo on Libya to be lifted to help the North African state battle people smugglers and halt the flow of migrants seeking a better life in Europe, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday.
Salvini, leader of the far-right, anti-immigration League, told reporters he did not want to see any more migrant boats leave Libyan shores bound for Italy, adding that European allies needed to do much more to help shut down the sea route.
"My aim is not to have even one boat come here," he told reporters after talks with Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeg. "The goal is for people who have the right to come to Italy, to come here by plane, preferably in first class."