I am not anti-US, not kneeling: Giorgia Meloni

Rome, June 29 (IANS) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday said that she is not anti-American but also not “kneeling”, amid the recent controversy over US President Donald Trump’s comments about the Italian PM.

“I am not anti-American today; I was not kneeling yesterday. I am a person who believes that the West is stronger united, who believes that Italy is stronger in a united West, and has worked and continues to work for this. After that, however, solid relationships are also based on frankness, and I am a frank person,” Meloni said, speaking about Italy-US relations on ’10 minuti’ on Rete 4, Italian news agency Adnkronos reported.

Earlier this month, Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani announced the cancellation of his planned visit to Miami for a business forum, after the controversy over Trump’s comments on Meloni.

“The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offend all of Italy. For this reason, I have decided to cancel my visit to the United States scheduled for the next 21 and 22 June,” Tajani wrote on X.

Trump reportedly said in an exclusive phone interview with ‘L’Aria che tira’ on La7, David Parenzo’s programme, that Giorgia Meloni “begged me to take a photo with her. She wanted a photo with me so badly. I might not have done it, but I felt sorry for her.”

“How is your Prime Minister? How is she?”, Trump asked the La7 correspondent, who in turn asked the American President for a comment on the conversation he had with Meloni on the sidelines of the Evian summit. “She’s probably happy I spoke to her. I wasn’t obliged to speak to her,” he replied.

Trump then stated that Europeans got everything wrong on energy and everything wrong on immigration, adding that if they do not solve these problems, Europe will never be the same.

He further said that they probably will not be able to solve them, describing immigration as a disaster and energy, with all those wind turbines, as a disaster, according to the Adnkronos news agency.

As for Ukraine, Trump said that they only want peace, and as the United States, they are not involved in the European Union accession process.

–IANS

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