Malta to help Italy relocate migrants aboard two ships

Malta has pledged to take in an undisclosed number of the 450 migrants that were carried by two ships stuck at sea due to a diplomatic dispute between Italy and Malta, Maltese government said on Saturday.

The relocation, which is being coordinated by Italy, is similar to the plan announced by Malta two weeks ago to relocate migrants aboard the MV Lifeline.

According to a Maltese government statement, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had spoken with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and pledged to help relocate the migrants.

The statement did not say how many migrants Malta had agreed to take in, but in a Facebook post, Conte said that Malta and France had both agreed to relocate 50 people each.

Malta and Italy were involved in a similar spat last month when the rescue vessel Lifeline with 250 migrants on board, requested assistance from both countries, both of which denied responsibility for the migrants. That ship eventually docked in Malta after intense talks at the EU level.