Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has let her nation down by getting tricked into discussing matters of national security by a pair of Russian pranksters, politicians from opposition parties have claimed.
Giuseppe Conte of the Five Star Movement, who held the Italian premiership from 2018 to 2021, has branded the incident a “planetary gaffe.” Meloni revealed things to Russian comedians Vovan and Lexus that she never told Italians, he pointed out, in a scolding social media post on Wednesday, after the tape was made public.
“She continues sending weapons to Ukraine with no time limit and pursues this military escalation. But she is apparently aware that a negotiated way out is necessary, which would protect the interests of both parties,” he said, adding that the prank caused “serious damage to Italy” and exposed “a huge deception” of its people.
In the call, Meloni said there was “a lot of fatigue” with the Ukraine conflict and that soon everyone would agree that a resolution acceptable to both sides was needed. Other issues discussed were Kiev’s failure to secure much territory during the summer counteroffensive against Russia, European energy security, and illegal migration in the EU.