The meeting between Giorgia Meloni and Marco Rubio has been made official and scheduled. It will take place at Palazzo Chigi on Friday, May 8, at 11:30 a.m. , according to an update to the Prime Minister's agenda on the government website.

The US Secretary of State will be in Rome from May 6 to 8 to promote bilateral relations with Italy and the Vatican , the US State Department reported. Rubio will also meet with the Holy See leadership "to discuss the situation in the Middle East and shared interests in the Western Hemisphere." The meeting with Meloni will focus "on shared security interests and strategic alignment," the statement reads.

Among other issues, the agenda is expected to include US disengagement from Europe, with Trump having recently threatened to withdraw troops from Italy, Spain, and Germany , which "did not help" in the war in Iran. In Germany, the withdrawal has already been decided and concerns 5,000 soldiers.

Giorgia Meloni, speaking on the sidelines of the EPC summit, addressed the matter: "I can't say what will happen. We know that the United States has been discussing its disengagement from Europe for some time, which is why I think we must strengthen our security and increase our ability to respond from this perspective. Clearly, it's a choice that doesn't depend on me and one that I personally wouldn't agree with ," said the Prime Minister, emphasizing that Italy "has always maintained its commitments within NATO, even when our direct interests weren't at stake, in Afghanistan as in Iraq. I don't consider some of the things said about us to be correct."

(Unioneonline/L)

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