Italy and France have found themselves in an ongoing row over the alleged downing of a plane in 1980.
This Saturday, former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato hit out at the French air force, claiming that they inadvertently fired a missile that hit Itavia Flight 870 en route from Bologna to Palermo.
The missile was allegedly fired as part of a plot to kill Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Amato claimed that Italy tipped off Gaddafi ahead of the missile strike, meanign that the Libyan dictator didn't board the Libyan military jet.
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, aditted that Amato's claims 'deserve attention'
PA
The latest remarks from Amato are at risk of triggering a diplomatic row between Italy and France.
The crash, which took place over the Mediterranean, killed everyone on board - 81 people.
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, aditted that Amato's claims "deserve attention" with the caveat that he should make available any hard evidence that he has.
Amato conceded that he has no solid proof to support the claims.
Speaking to Italian outlet La Repubblica, he said: "The most credible version is that of responsibility of the French air force, in complicity with the Americans and who participated in a war in the skies that evening of June 27."
He claimed that Nato had planned to "simulate an exercise, with many planes in action, during which a missile was supposed to be fired" with Gadhafi as the target.
In the wake of the crash, French, United States and Nato officials denied any involvement, each saying no military activity occurred in the skies that night.
Amato ruffled feathers further by making a pointed remark about French President Macron, who was a toddler when the plane went down.
He said: "I ask myself why a young president like Macron, while age-wise extraneous to the Ustica tragedy, wouldn't want to remove the shame that weighs on France."
Giuliano Amato twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001.
PA
The former Italian premier added: "And he can remove it in only two ways — either demonstrating that the this thesis is unfounded or, once the (thesis') foundation is verified, by offering the deepest apologies to Italy and to the families of the victims in the name of his government."
He claimed that the missile was fired by a French fighter jet that had taken off from an aircraft carrier, possibly located off Corsica’s southern coast.