Mr Frattini said Romania's Interior Minister, Vasil Blaga, told him there were no such prisons in his country.

BBC: EU warned on 'secret CIA jails'

Mr Frattini expressed his satisfaction at the positive resolution of the affair and the release of the Italian citizens on board.

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Italian Foreign Minster Franco Frattini said on Monday that Rome was also prepared to increase its presence in Afghanistan from the current 3, 200.

BBC: Barack Obama issues new Afghanistan military orders

Mr Frattini said it was "very, very important to get the truth", but he cautioned that it was "impossible to move only on the basis of allegations".

BBC: EU warned on 'secret CIA jails'

That evening, the Secretary-General attended a gala dinner, held at the Castello di Miramare and hosted by Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, for the G-8 and Quartet Ministers.

UN: Secretary-General

Al Vecchio Fornaio Pasticcere (Via Frattini Emilio 6, Mergozzo 28802).

BBC: The spirit of the Italian Lakes

His foreign minister, Franco Frattini, is one plausible candidate.

ECONOMIST: Buttiglione backs out | The

As a prosecutor in Sicily began investigating the incident, Italy's foreign minister, Franco Frattini, outraged the Maltese government by suggesting that it should limit Malta's territorial waters because it could not patrol them properly.

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Italy's Ansa news agency quoted Mr Frattini as saying the conflict was a test of Nato's "credibility" and that it was "clear that Italy must finish the job started with NATO and make a greater contribution if it is needed".

BBC: Barack Obama issues new Afghanistan military orders