Italy says it will pursue its dispute with India through international arbitration proceedings over the issue of two Italian marines accused of killing Indian fishermen in 2002.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said Friday that the initiative follows past failed attempts to hold direct negotiations with the government in New Delhi to secure the freedom of Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who face trial in India.

Rome did not give the details of how it would act, but both marines would be requested to be allowed to stay on home soil pending the outcome of the arbitration procedure. Latorre has already been sent to Italy. He was sent home last year due to a heart condition, but Girone remains confined to the Italian embassy in Delhi pending trial.

The case has strained diplomatic relations between the two countries because India insists the dispute must be resolved by its courts because its citizens were shot in its territorial waters.

However, Italy says the two marines were on an anti-piracy mission in international waters, and should be dealt with under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or seek judgement from the International Court of Justice in The Hague or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

On February 15, 2012, the two marines were on a mission on board an Italian-flagged commercial oil-tanker named MT Enrica Lexie, when they allegedly opened fire killing two Indian fisherman on board the St. Antony vessel. The marines claim they did not deliberately kill the fishermen, but they admit to firing warning shots at the fishing boat which they mistook for a pirate vessel.

XLS/HSN