Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday
noted that saying no to an alliance with US President Donald
Trump questioned Italy's Nato and G7 membership, replying to
centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein during a
debate in the Lower House ahead of this week's EU Council.
Meloni said Schlein's "idea of Europe is not very clear".
Does standing with the European Union mean sending troops to
Ukraine "because it was proposed by (French President Emmanuel)
Macron and (British Premier Keir) Starmer, Meloni told Schlein,
referring to efforts spearheaded by the two leaders to plan a
mainly European peacekeeping force for Ukraine in the event of a
peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
Meloni has said the deployment of Italian troops in a potential
peacekeeping force in Ukraine is not on the agenda.
And "when she says that Trump will never represent something
similar to an ally, does she mean that we have to leave Nato and
the G7, that we must not have bilateral relations? I think that
allied countries don't change based on who wins an election",
she said
The prime minister said "the point of view of the opposition
members counts, but I have been asked many times: 'do you stand
with Europe or with the United States?.
"I think I have replied several times - I always stand with
Italy", she said.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
