Rome, 01/08/2000 (Agence Europe) - The accusations leveled by Italy against Greece and Turkey following the arrival in Calabria of a vessel carrying 418 illegal immigrants (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.6) have been rejected by the two countries, which protested strongly. The Italian police have meanwhile said that they have ample proof that the vessel "Kalsit" that was carrying the illegal immigrants did not stop off in Greece, whereas officials from the Italian Home Affairs Ministry have gone to Ankara to try to clarify the situation. Turkey assumes its responsibilities regarding the prevention of illegal immigration, said a spokesperson for the Turkish Home Affairs Ministry, noting that the Italian protests were "premature". As for the Greek Minister of Merchant Shipping, he accuses Italy of having reacted on the basis of "imprecise information". The latter, Christos Papoutsis, said that Greece "protects the EU's maritime borders", stressing that the problem of immigration concerns the EU as a whole and the latter's bilateral relations with other Mediterranean countries, and that Greece places emphasis on better coordination with Mediterranean countries to combat this phenomenon.