Italy’s Salvini bashes France over ‘Libya energy interests’ in new diplomatic spat

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Tuesday that France did not want to bring calm to Libya because its energy interests there clashed with those of Italy. A source in Macron’s office dismissed the latest attack as “ludicrous,” Reuters reports. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte sought to ease the escalating tensions, saying relations between the two countries remained strong despite a string of recent rows. On Monday, France summoned Italy’s ambassador after Salvini’s fellow deputy prime minister, Luigi Di Maio, accused Paris of creating poverty in Africa and generating mass migration to Europe.