German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is trying to reduce tension in the diplomatic conflict between Rome and Paris — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is unhappy that she did not participate in the contacts of European leaders with the White House regarding Ukraine.
The Financial Times writes about this.
Tensions between the two capitals increased on May 16, when French President Emmanuel Macron said that Giorgia Meloni was spreading false information that she was not invited to a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a joint call with the US President Donald Trump, which took place at the European Political Community summit in Albania.
The Italian Prime Minister said she was not invited because of her refusal to send Italian troops to Ukraine as part of the “coalition of the willing”. At the time, Emmanuel Macron denied that the issue of sending European troops to Ukraine was even discussed in Tirana or earlier in Kyiv, where he met with Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, but without Meloni.
"It was about a ceasefire, not about troops — thereʼs no need to spread disinformation. Thereʼs enough of that coming from Russia," he said.
Friedrich Merz met with Giorgia Meloni on the eve of Sundayʼs inauguration of Pope Leo XIV and tried to settle the dispute. The Chancellor said that he and Meloni had agreed that Italy should participate in all European peace initiatives regarding Ukraine.
During a joint press conference, Giorgia Meloni called for unity and the rejection of “selfishness,” emphasizing the importance of “Western unity”. In her speech, she repeatedly emphasized the need for a “just peace” that would not amount to a capitulation for Kyiv, and called the talks in Istanbul a “cautious first step” toward a peace process.
In Italy, the prime minister was criticized for not participating in the "European Quartet" that promotes Ukraineʼs interests before Trump, saying that she was isolating Italy from important international decisions.
She was accused of hiding the real reasons for her absence, with some suggesting that she allowed personal antipathy towards Macron to influence her decision. Personal disputes between the French and Italian leaders have flared since Méloni came to power in late 2022, notably when Macron did not invite her to a private dinner with Zelensky in early 2023.
Meloni also had a strained relationship with Merzʼs predecessor Olaf Scholz, who criticized the prime minister for her tough immigration policies. Merzʼs party now takes a hardline approach to immigration, and the new chancellor is trying to build a friendlier relationship with the Italian.
- Following the first talks between Ukraine and Russia since 2022, the presidents of Ukraine and France, Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as the prime ministers of Great Britain and Poland, Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk, held a telephone conversation with the US President Donald Trump.
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