BRUSSELS: Italy's government is looking to defend its national interests within the European Union rather than getting "pats on the back" from other EU leaders, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday.
"Compared to those who thought that Italian foreign policy was about receiving pats on the back and not considering ones own interests, I think Italy's interests are more relevant," she told a news conference following a summit of EU leaders.
Meloni, who heads a right-wing nationalist administration, reiterated that she thought France had made a political mistake by inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Paris on the eve of the summit for a dinner with the German chancellor.
"What was right and important was the picture with all the 27 EU members with Zelenskiy. That is strongest message you can give," she said, adding that the French initiative did not take into account the importance of European unity.
"Had I been invited to the Elysee Palace for the meeting with Zelensky, I would have advised (them) not to hold this meeting," Meloni told journalists. Zelensky visited Britain and France on Wednesday and in Paris had a late dinner with Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"In Paris, there were two European presidents, there were 25 missing," said Meloni on Friday.
Meloni met Zelensky in Brussels on Thursday, during which she discussed a forthcoming visit to Kyiv, she said.
Asked about her comments, Macron said he thought Wednesday's dinner had been fitting.
"As you know, Germany and France have had a special role on the Ukraine question for eight years," he told reporters, referring to joint mediation by the two countries that tried, and failed, to prevent conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
However, things were different when Draghi, a former president of the European Central Bank, was prime minister. Draghi travelled with Macron and Scholz to Kyiv by train last June and played a leading role with them in shaping EU opposition to Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
Meloni has pledged to maintain the same pro-Ukraine stance, despite the misgivings of some of her coalition allies, telling reporters on Thursday that providing help to Kyiv was the best way to bring about peace.
Underscoring her willingness to support Kyiv, Italy and France finalised technical talks last week for the joint delivery of a SAMP/T-MAMBA air defence system to Ukraine in spring of this year.
However, Meloni's brand of nationalist politics has put her at odds with both Macron and Scholz on an array of other issues and the close ties that Draghi forged with Paris and Berlin seem a distant memory.
Paris last November accused Meloni's new government of breaking a bond of trust and breaching international laws by refusing to take in migrants saved by a charity rescue ship. The boat eventually docked in France instead.
Earlier this week, French and German ministers flew to Washington together to discuss contested US subsidies with their US counterparts, excluding Italy, which is the second-largest manufacturer in the European Union after Germany. -- AFP
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