Italy: Libyan 'Tragedy Coming to an End'

The Libyan conflict appears to be drawing to a close, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in an interview on Sunday in which he also looked forward to economic deals for Italy under a new regime.

"Everything points to this tragedy coming to an end," Frattini told the Il Mattino daily, as NATO-backed rebels and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's supporters fought skirmishes in the streets of the Libyan capital Tripoli.

Frattini said Italy stands to benefit from a change of regime in Libya.

"Our companies can rest assured. The new Libyan government will respect all previous contracts," he said, adding that engineers from Italian company Saipem were already at work on repairing Libya's damaged oil infrastructure.

He also said there would be "great opportunities" for Italian companies in the healthcare and construction sectors if Gadhafi's regime collapses.

Italy is Libya's former colonial ruler and it enjoyed strong economic ties with Gadhafi before the start of protests against the regime, although it has since aligned itself with international mobilization against the Libyan leader.

Italy was Libya's top trade partner before the start of the conflict in mid-February and Italian oil major ENI was the biggest foreign energy producer in Libya.