US President Donald Trump spoke positively about his relations with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after six months of bilateral tension, ANSA reported, quoted by BTA.
In response to a journalist's question, Trump said that his relations with Meloni were very good. "I've always liked her", he added, when journalists asked him about his attacks on the Italian prime minister in the last few months.
Meloni and Trump maintained good relations during the first year of the Republican's return to the White House. In the spring, however, Trump criticized Pope Leo XIII for not understanding how dangerous Iran would be if it had nuclear weapons. The criticism came after the Pope criticized leaders who start wars. Trump also condemned the Pope's ideas on migration. Meloni then expressed solidarity with the Pope three times. Trump then attacked her and Italy for not helping the US in the war in Iran. He was referring to Italy's refusal to allow US planes to land on Italian bases on combat missions for Iran.
Months of tension followed, during which top diplomats from both countries and their respective ambassadors tried behind the scenes to mend bilateral relations. During this time, Meloni always spoke positively about relations with the US and the common ideas shared with Trump, but Trump continued to criticize her.
At the G7 summit in Evian, France, the two spoke several times on the sidelines of the forum, and analysts commented that relations had been mended. However, after the meeting, Trump announced that Meloni had begged him to take a picture with her to boost his ratings in Italy, and he had agreed. Meloni immediately retorted that Trump was saying untrue things and said that she and Italy never beg for anything. She recommended that Trump watch his own ratings at home.
At the NATO summit in Ankara, Meloni and Trump did not have a conversation on the sidelines. And Trump said that the Italian prime minister was a good person, but the Italian leadership had disappointed him by not helping the United States in the war in Iran.
Meloni missed the Annual Session of the UN General Assembly in New York in September, which Trump attended, and shortly before that she openly expressed regret that her relationship with the American leader had not developed according to her expectations, but added that she had no regrets about the policy she had pursued towards the United States.