File pic: Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone.
A multi-party parliamentary delegation from Italy will visit India, where two Italian marines are facing trial over the killing of two Indian fishermen.
The delegation will visit Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone in Delhi, lawmakers said in a statement.
The delegation leaders may meet their Indian counterparts during the visit, media in Rome reported, citing statements from heads of foreign and defence commissions of both the houses of Italian parliament.
The visit is aimed at expressing solidarity of the parliament and the country with the two marines, the statement said. The statement, however, did not give any date for the proposed visit.
Latorre and Girone allegedly shot dead two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast in February 2012, sparking diplomatic tensions between India and Italy.
The marines, deployed on board Italian-flagged oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie to guard it, say they mistook the fishermen for pirates. They are now staying in the Italian embassy in Delhi, awaiting trial.
Rome wants to try the marines in Italy, claiming the incident took place in international waters.
However, New Delhi says it has the right to try the Italian naval personnel as the victims were Indian on board an Indian fishing boat.
In New Delhi, Italian government today approached the Supreme Court challenging invocation of an anti-terrorism law against the marines. The petition will be taken up by the Supreme Court on January 20.