Giorgia Meloni sees "no crack" in relations between the United States and Europe, and reiterates that if the Old Continent "wants to be great, it must be able to defend itself." While other governments have been concerned about America's new foreign policy strategy and Donald Trump's latest attacks, the Prime Minister offers a decidedly more nuanced interpretation in her interview on La7 news. She was a guest (over a year since the last time) with Enrico Mentana, twenty-four hours after Elly Schlein, in a remote meeting that will become a face-to-face meeting, the Prime Minister clarifies, only when "the opposition says who their leader is."

The White House document

The strategic document published by the White House, "beyond its assertive tone," contains assessments of European policy that Meloni explains she partly agrees with. And it points, she adds, "to something that has been going on in the debate between the US and Europe for a long time," speaking of what "some of us had the courage to define long ago as an inevitable historical path." Namely, that Europeans must roll up their sleeves when it comes to defense. "When you outsource security to someone else, you have to know there's a price to pay," the prime minister observes, referring to the NATO summit where member states' military spending was increased. "We know it's an inevitable process and it's an opportunity for us. Clearly, defense has an economic cost and produces political freedom."

Ukraine

The Prime Minister reaffirms her support for Trump on international crises and downplays the differing pressures within her own government on the Ukraine issue: "The line has been very clear from the beginning; we supported Kiev to build peace. Peace isn't built with good intentions, but with deterrence. The government's line must remain the same to forge a path to peace."

There's no room for allusions to pro-Russian and pro-American sentiment, and when Mentana mentions Matteo Salvini, the prime minister reiterates that she listens to everyone on her team. "We are all pro-Italian," she clarifies, and supporting Volodymyr Zelensky's government is in the national interest, because "we risk paying a much higher price by making a different choice."

Israel and Palestine

The decision to recognize the State of Palestine, however, remains tied to the two usual conditions: "The disarmament of Hamas and the certainty that it has no role in the governance of Gaza. Italian efforts are aimed at implementing Trump's plan, which is complex but is an opportunity that may not come again." And the government, the prime minister assures, has not been shy with Israel: "We have been very clear in various forums: it has no right to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state or to encourage new settlements to prevent it."

(Unioneonline)

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