VALLETTA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Maltese government said on Tuesday evening that it wanted discussions on the possible relocation of 49 stranded migrants concluded "in the coming hours".
Two NGO-operated vessels, the Sea-Watch 3 and the Prof Albrecht Penck currently find themselves stranded off the coast of Malta, carrying 32 and 17 rescued migrants respectively.
The migrants on the Sea-Watch 3 were rescued on Dec. 22, while the migrants on board the Prof Albrecht Penck were rescued a week later.
"Malta is once again being called to take upon itself responsibilities which are beyond its remit when it comes to showing European solidarity in practice," the government said in a statement.
It reiterated that Malta had no legal competence in the migrants' rescue, adding that NGO vessels had intercepted the migrants in the Libyan SRR, closer to Libya, Tunisia, and Italy.
The government added that the NGOs had been denied entry in other European and non-European safe ports and proceeded to loiter in Maltese territorial waters.
Furthermore, it noted that Malta had, in recent weeks, rescued 249 migrants.
"In this context, Malta believes that the discussion on ad hoc relocation should not be limited to the persons on board the two NGO vessels, but should be extended to a portion of the persons who have been rescued and are already in Malta, as a sign of goodwill."
Finally, the government stressed that a long-term European solution for dealing with similar issues in the future should be a priority in order to avoid a repetition of the current state of affairs.
