FOREIGN Minister Franco Frattini said yesterday Italy is not putting pressure on the European Central Bank to continue buying Italian government bonds on the market.

Frattini said both Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti had been in close contact with international financial institutions over the market turmoil which has hit the eurozone's third largest economy.

"But the European Central Bank is an independent institution so there are no requests, pressures," on bond buying, he told reporters.