Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused US President Donald Trump of lying, Italian media reported, including ANSA, “Corriere della Sera“, “Sky TG 24“ and “TG Com 24“, BTA writes.
Meloni was referring to a statement made by Trump earlier this morning to a journalist on Italian television “La Sette“. Trump said that during the G-7 meeting in Evian, Meloni begged him to take a picture with him. He felt sorry for her and took a picture with her. Trump was referring to a photo of the two of them sitting alone on a sofa. Trump added to “La Sette“ that he was not required to speak to the Italian prime minister at all.
Immediately after that, Meloni, who is at the EU summit in Brussels, posted a short video on her social media accounts in which she said that Trump was talking nonsense. She said that Italy and she personally never beg anyone for anything. Meloni said that she was frankly amazed by Trump's statements, but recalled that she was not surprised by him, since he had acted similarly with other allies. Meloni added that she was disappointed that Trump did not show the same determination (as he attacks allies) towards the enemies of the West.
During the G7 meeting in Evian, Meloni and Trump held a conversation to clarify relations, sources said a few days ago, who said the conversation was useful.
Journalistic footage showed Meloni and Trump talking several more times in Evian, but at one point in one of the conversations, Meloni made energetic gestures towards Trump. In another conversation, which was also attended by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Council President Antonio Costa, Costa asked Meloni and Trump if the two were friends again. Meloni says they never stopped being friends. Trump, however, says he was "abandoned," to which Meloni laughs and replies, "That's enough, it's not true."
At a briefing after the Evian summit, the Italian prime minister said that she believes her relationship with Trump has not changed. "There were no reproaches, we didn't talk about what happened. We both have quite strong characters and we are both leaders who defend national interests resolutely. We don't need to go into an explanatory mode with each other when we disagree on something. And in the end, everyone understands the other's point of view, and therefore we started from what we can do in the coming months, as we did the last time we met in a similar situation," Meloni said, quoted by ANSA. She also expressed Italy's readiness to join a mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz. But at the same time in Rome, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto announced that Italy would not join the initiative to buy American weapons that would later be provided to Ukraine, Reuters recalls.
In an interview with “La Sette“ today, Trump also sharply criticized Europeans in general. He said that “Europeans have got everything wrong with energy and immigration, and if Europe does not resolve these issues, it will not be the same”, ANSA notes. He then called European immigration policy “a disaster” and European energy policy, which relies on wind turbines, “a failure”.
In response to a question about the possibility of Ukraine joining the EU and the consequences that this could have for efforts in relation to Vladimir Putin, Trump stated: “I am not involved in this issue. "We only want peace," ANSA recalls.