Italy's envoy confident of hostage talks ROME, March 19 (UPI) -- The Italian ambassador to India expressed optimism about negotiations for the release of two Italian tourists kidnapped by Maoist rebels during the weekend. Indian officials said tourists Paolo Bosusco and Claudio Colangelo were kidnapped Saturday in a remote part of eastern India's Orissa state after being told not to go to the area, ANSA reported. Officials said they haven't had any conversations with the rebels since a deadline the local government to meet 13 demands, including the release from prison of three Maoist leaders, passed Sunday. "I have the sensation that the local government really has the will to make a major effort and this comforts me," Ambassador Giacomo Sanfelice told Il Messaggero, a daily newspaper in Rome. I'm confident. These armed groups have always followed and respected a negotiations model. Sanfelice said Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik assured him the Indian government offered the Maoists the opportunity for "public negotiations and this is a fundamentally important step to start dialogue."