Italian PM Meloni Says She Has "Cordial Relations" With Trump After Spat

Italian PM Meloni says she has "cordial relations" with Trump after US President calls her a "nice person"

Ankara, July 8

Speaking to Italian reporters on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Meloni made the remarks after a recent public spat with Trump, according to CNN.

The tensions followed Trump's claim that Meloni had "begged" him for a photograph during the G7 summit in Evian, France. Meloni rejected the allegation, and the episode prompted Italy's foreign minister to cancel a planned visit to the United States, CNN reported.

Meloni's comments came hours after Trump described her as a "nice person" during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, while acknowledging that their relationship had recently deteriorated over Italy's refusal to support US military efforts against Iran.

"I think she's a nice person; actually, we've had a good week. We had a bad relationship. It became a little bad because she refused to help us again," Trump said, according to CNN.

"I think she's a nice person, actually. But I think she made a mistake," he added, referring to Italy's decision not to assist the United States in the conflict with Iran.

Trump said he did not put "heavy press" on Meloni to provide assistance, but admitted that Italy's refusal "soured" their relationship "a little bit."

The remarks followed Trump's Truth Social post on Sunday, in which he shared a photograph with Meloni and captioned it, "RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED."

The disagreement marked a sharp shift in relations between the two leaders, who had previously maintained cordial ties. Trump had also criticised several NATO allies, including Italy, for declining to back US military operations against Iran despite longstanding American security commitments.

Despite the recent exchanges, Italy remains a key US ally within NATO. Meloni has previously stressed that bilateral ties between the two countries transcend individual leaders.

"These relationships don't begin or end because of who happens to be in power at a particular moment," Meloni had said, adding, "Foreign policy is more complex than that."

— ANI