The Italian prime minister made the comments after holding talks with the UK’s prime minister in London ahead of the summit on European defence and Ukraine.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni arrived in London on Sunday morning to attend the summit on European defence and the war in Ukraine that was convened by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Italian prime minister is one of just three European leaders not to have shown their support for Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his heated discussion at the White House with Donald Trump.
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Slovakia’s Robert Fico are the other two – and they have gone further by both siding with Russia.
Meloni had a telephone conversation with US President Trump on Saturday evening, demonstrating the strong ties between the two leaders and her desire to act as a bridge between the US and the EU.
Meloni wants to avoid the West splitting
‘I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk of the West splitting. And I think that in this the UK and Italy can play an important role in building bridges,” Meloni said.
“I have proposed a meeting between the US and European leaders because if we divide we will all be weaker.”
“We both think outside the box and I am certain that we can do even better in issues such as security, defence, energy and the fight against irregular immigration and human traffickers,” Meloni continued.
Whilst she reiterated that everyone is very committed to the goal of achieving “peace, a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, Meloni pointedly did not offer her support to its president Volodymr Zelenskyy.
Starmer: ‘Very similar approach with Meloni’
Starmer, who along with France on Sunday morning announced a plan for peace in Ukraine, reiterated how close the UK is to Italy: “We have a very similar approach on the important issues facing the world right now,” he said.
Before leaving for the summit, Polish Prime Minister and EU rotating president Donald Tusk greeted the meeting between Meloni and Starmer.
“A summit between the EU and the US today seems very necessary indeed and it is good that it was proposed by Meloni to President Trump, because of their very good relations. Maybe it will have a positive effect,” Tusk said.
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