GENEVA (AFP) - The head of the UN refugee agency wants the European Commission to organise talks on Italy's controversial policy of sending back illegal immigrants to Libya, a UN spokesman said Wednesday.

High Commissioner Antonio Guterres wanted Italy, Malta, Libya and the UNHCR itself to discuss how to handle the steady stream of migrants making the perilous Mediterranean crossing, said spokesman Ron Redmond.

The agency wanted to find 'a more satisfactory response' to the problem 'following Italy's recent 'push-backs' to Libya,' said a UNHCR statement.