CLRNC CONFUSION ENDS WITH ACFT ON RWY WITH ANOTHER ACFT ON TKOF ROLL AT FOREIGN ARPT.

Narrative

THIS IS A TAXI/RWY INCURSION. IT STARTED JUST AFTER TAXI OUR FROM GATE AT ROME ARPT. WE WERE TAXIING W ON TXWY V. OUR INITIAL CLRNC WAS 'TAXI TO RWY 16R VIA TXWY V; TXWY A; HOLD SHORT RWY 25; RWY 25 WAS USED FOR TKOF THAT DAY. WE WERE TOO HVY FOR RWY 25 SO WE WERE GOING TO RWY 16R. ROUNDING THE CORNER AT TXWY V TO TXWY A; WE WERE 'CLRED TO CROSS RWY 25; CONTACT TWR.' I CHKED RWY 25 FOR DEPS AND SAW 1 ACFT Y IN POS FOR TKOF ON RWY 25. WE STARTED XING RWY 25 AND JUST AS OUR NOSEWHEEL WAS XING THE CTRLINE; WE HEARD 'ACFT X HOLD POS.' WE COULD NOT BELIEVE THEY WANTED US TO HOLD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TKOF RWY. WE ALL LOOKED R AND SAW A JET LIFT OFF ON RWY 25 TO OUR R. BY THE TIME WE HAD CROSSED THE RWY; HE WAS PASSING OVERHEAD. AT XA30; THE TWR CONTACTED US AND ASKED WHY WE CROSSED. WE TOLD THEM WE HAD BEEN 'CLRED TO CROSS' AND HAD READ BACK OUR 'CLRED TO CROSS' CLRNC. WE HAD ALSO NOT STOPPED IN POS ON THE RWY BECAUSE WE WERE ALREADY XING AND WANTED TO GET OUT OF THE WAY OF APCHING TKOF ACFT Y. I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE WE COULD HAVE DONE. WE WERE CLRED; LOOKED BOTH WAYS; AGREED IT WAS SAFE TO CROSS AND CROSSED.