Italian Ambassador Paolo Andrea Trabalza has blamed the press for "playing up" a non-existent division between Italy and Malta in their recent dispute on immigration.

Parliamentary secretary Mario de Marco agreed and said, "You cannot always trust the press". He added that the issue of irregular immigrants "who anyway do not stay in either Malta or Italy", was a question that did not have to divide the two countries.

"Italy has always helped Malta and our friendly relationship should not be questioned," Dr de Marco said.

They were speaking on the stage of the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta during a business conference with an audience of 600 Italians. The event was the National Sales Force Celebration of Italian company Vorwek Folletto, which chose to hold its annual convention in Malta where it awarded its best sales advisers of 2008.

A press release reporting what was said was sent by the press office of Vorwerk Folletto.

Italy and Malta have spent a number of weeks arguing about each other's international obligations in relation to migrants rescued off the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, which lies within Malta's search and rescue area.

Italy, taking a new position on the issue, claimed that migrants rescued in a country's search and rescue area should be taken to that country but Malta has insisted all along that according to international laws they should be taken to the nearest safe port, which in these cases would be Lampedusa.

Dr Trabalza had maintained, however, that Lampedusa was not a safe port because it did not have its own hospital - an argument that was lambasted by Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg who said the island had always been considered safe in the past.

Later, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said he was "disgusted" by Italy's failure to rescue a group of migrants.

In the most recent run-in, Italy decided to send a boatload of migrants back to Libya rather than to Malta, a decision that was welcomed by the government but criticised by the UN and the Vatican since it did not give a chance for the migrants to apply for asylum and protection.

During the business conference Dr Trabalza said there had been a moment of "strain" but reiterated that it was just "a quarrel between friends".

"Malta and Italy have been friends for ages and it will always be so," he said.

Dr de Marco said the EU needed to find a solution since immigration was affecting all of Europe and not just the two neighbouring countries.

"Relations between Malta and Italy are sound and deep-rooted in centuries of history and based on common culture and faith," he said.