Italian President Giorgio Napolitano expressed concern about unrest in Tibet on Monday and urged Chinese authorities to respect human rights there.
"It is known that both Italy and the European Union have a very permanent commitment with the defense of human rights everywhere in the world," Napolitano said during a joint news conference with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.
The current situation in Tibet "worries us deeply", he said.
An appeal to respect human rights "is going to be reiterated with even greater force, and it is going to be addressed to the Chinese government," added Napolitano.
Napolitano said Italian foreign minister will reaffirm that stance during an upcoming gathering of EU ministers. He did not elaborate.
Earlier Monday, Napolitano visited the seaside house of the late Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, whom the Italian leader befriended in Italy in the 1950s when both were active communists. The house in the resort town of Isla Negra near Santiago has been turned into a museum.
The Italian leader, who called Chile "a strategic partner" for Italy, was scheduled to fly home on Wednesday.
