By Silvia Aloisi
ROME (Reuters) - The Italian and U.N. hosts of a U.N.crisis summit on rising food prices on Monday left thepresidents of Zimbabwe and Iran off the guest list of aceremonial dinner for the leaders attending the meeting.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is able to take part inthe conference only because an EU travel ban on him does notapply to U.N. forums.
And Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on his first visit to WesternEurope as Iranian president, made sure of a frosty welcome byoffending Israel on the eve of his departure.
Neither was named on the list of guests for the officialdinner being given on Tuesday by Italian Prime Minister SilvioBerlusconi and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the headsof state attending the June 3-5 summit, Italian media reported.
Western ministers said Mugabe was responsible for the foodshortages faced by millions in Zimbabwe's shattered economy.
"We will not allow the millions of people who can no longerafford a normal meal to be held hostage by Mugabe," said DutchDevelopment Minister Bert Koenders.
British International Development Secretary DouglasAlexander said 4 million Zimbabweans had to rely on food aidbecause of Mugabe's policies.
"This is not a man with any credibility or any contributionto a discussion on international food," he said.
The leader of the former British colony arrived in Rome,home of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation, late onSunday, his first official trip abroad since March electionscondemned by Western and opposition leaders as fraudulent.
Ahmadinejad said before setting off for Rome that Israelwould soon disappear off the map, and the "satanic power" ofthe United States would be destroyed.
Israel's ambassador to Italy, Gideon Meir, said the remarksshowed that inviting him to the summit had been"inappropriate".
Ahmadinejad's visit has already created a diplomaticheadache for Italy and the Holy See after he was said to haverequested a meeting with the pope and Berlusconi.
The Italian government ruled out a meeting, citing timeconstraints, and the pope's schedule for the week mentioned noaudiences for any of the summit's heads of state.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Shafer said he would not meeteither of the men in Rome.
"We are glad they're here, we appreciate the opportunityfor dialogue, but it is our position that we will not meet withthem," Shafer said.
Alexander said he would not even shake hands with Mugabe,who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.
Inflation in Zimbabwe, once southern Africa's breadbasket,is 165,000 percent, unemployment stands at 80 percent and thereare chronic shortages of basic necessities including food andfuel. About 3.5 million people have fled to escape poverty.
Mugabe blames Britain for the economic malaise, accusing itof trying to undermine him and reverse his redistribution ofwhite-owned farms to black farmers.
At an FAO gathering in 2005, Mugabe called U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush and Tony Blair "international terrorists",comparing them to Adolf Hitler.
(Additional reporting by Katherine Baldwin in London, PhilStewart in Rome, Emma Thomasson in Amsterdam; Editing by KevinLiffey)
