1 of 3 | European Council President Antonio Costa, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. President Donald Trump, Kenya's President William Ruto, French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Japan Sanae Takaichi, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pose for a group picture at Hotel Royal during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday. Photo by Yoan Valat/EPA
June 19 (UPI) -- Italy's foreign minister canceled his trip to the United States on Friday after President Donald Trump claimed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni "begged" him for a photo at the G7 summit.
Antonio Tajani, who was slated to travel to the United States this weekend, called Trump's claim "serious and offensive. Meloni also rejected the claim, saying it is "completely fabricated."
"But there is one thing he needs to remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg," Meloni said in a post on Instagram. "Donald Trump's statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned. I don't know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. After all, this isn't the first time this has happened."
