Charities rescuing migrants stranded in the Mediterranean play a vital role in saving lives, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock insisted Thursday, amid a spat with Italy over Berlin's funding for such organisations.
Baerbock told a joint news conference with Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani that as long as people were dying trying to reach Europe, Berlin stood by its backing of such NGOs despite Italian complaints.
"Volunteer sea rescuers have a life-saving task in the Mediterranean," she said.
"They are committed to countering the deaths in the Mediterranean with humanity, precisely because the European joint sea rescue service Mare Nostrum no longer exists," she added, referring to the Italian government's year-long operation which rescued more than 100,000 migrants before ending in 2014.
