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Italy will not respond further to US President Donald Trump’s attacks on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, ministers said, pledging to protect bilateral ties that have come under strain in recent weeks after the two leaders traded accusations.
Meloni was once seen as a close ally of Trump, but the relationship faltered last month when he told Italian TV channel La7 that she had “begged” him to take a photo with her at a G7 summit in France.
She denied the claim and accused him of fabricating the story.
With the two leaders due to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in Ankara on Tuesday and Wednesday, Trump appeared to reignite the dispute when he posted on Truth Social a picture of Meloni looking up at him with the caption “RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED”.
