FILE PHOTO: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte holds a news conference after participating in the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium July 12, 2018. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte denied in newspaper comments on Friday that the country’s treasury minister could leave the government, following rumors of friction within the administration.

Italian government bond yields rose last week after local media reports of tensions within the ruling coalition.

Treasury Minister Giovanni “Tria is the Cerberus of public finances, their stern guardian. But there is no way he could leave the government,” Conte told Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

“And be careful not to regard him a ‘foreign body’ to this executive. He’s active and involved in efforts to win from Europe wiggle room that allows us to change things.”

Conte also reiterated Italy’s commitment to the single currency and the NATO defense alliance.