Italian PM comments on Black Lives Matter protests in US

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte says Italy is watching closely, and with concern, as Black Lives Matter protests target American cities, particularly while the U.S. is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Conte was asked at a news conference on Sunday to comment on the killing of George Floyd by a white policeman in Minneapolis and the protests that have erupted in the aftermath.

Conte said the protests had "touched the raw nerve of racial discrimination in American society," while reflecting on problems of inequality, suffering and marginalization among certain facets of the population.

He said violent protests "are never admissible" and that Italy respects the internal matters of its longtime ally.