Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has announced the cancellation of his planned visit to the United States on June 21-22, following statements attributed to US President Donald Trump towards Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
In a public reaction, Tajani described the statements as “serious and offensive”, emphasizing that they affect not only the prime minister, but also all of Italy. For this reason, he announced that he had decided not to carry out his official visit to Washington on the planned dates.
Tajani’s decision comes at a time of significant diplomatic tensions, adding pressure on relations between Rome and Washington, while so far there has been no official reaction from the American side regarding this issue.
The cancellation is expected to have repercussions in transatlantic relations, especially in the context of political and security cooperation between the two countries.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melonie herself has accused US President Donald Trump of “completely inventing” a story regarding their relationship during the G7 Summit in France.
Meloni’s reaction came after Trump, in an interview with an Italian television channel, claimed that she “begged” to take a picture with him during the summit, adding that he had only agreed out of regret. According to media reports, Trump had said that Meloni “wanted a picture at all costs” and that he “wouldn’t have done it, but he did it out of regret.”
The Italian Prime Minister has described these statements as untrue and expressed surprise at the way they have been presented publicly, emphasizing that they “have no real basis.”
According to her, the American president’s comments constitute a distortion of the facts and a stance that does not reflect the reality of the relationship between the two leaders during the summit.