NEW YORK (UNITED STATES) (ITALPRESS) – Premier Giorgia Meloni arrived in Mar-a-Lago, Florida on Saturday evening to visit President-elect Donald Trump. The informal meeting took place during a dinner that occurred between the two leaders just days before President Joe Biden’s trip to Rome for an official visit to Italy and the Vatican Jan. 9-12. The evening was also attended by Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee as the next Secretary of State, and Texas businessman Tilman Fertitta future ambassador to Italy. Accompanying the Prime Minister was Italy’s ambassador to Washington Mariangela Zappia. Meloni’s visit to Trump, one of the first by a foreign leader to the president-elect’s Florida estate since his election, confirms the prediction that the Italian prime minister will be Trump’s key ally in Europe, especially given the tensions expected between other European leaders and Trump after the latter’s threats to unleash a trade war with the EU and to reduce U.S. support for NATO and Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Saturday night’s visit, according to sources cited by the New York Times, was also wanted by the Italian government to discuss the detention in Iran of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala. In fact, Sala’s arrest came just days after Italy arrested, at the request of the United States, an Iranian engineer suspected of supplying drone components to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Also according to a New York Times source, a person briefed on the meeting with Trump said Meloni insisted that the meeting took place specifically to talk about Cecilia Sala. As reported by other sources, the meeting with Trump in Florida on Saturday was reportedly facilitated by Elon Musk, who is a supporter and friend of the Italian premier
Since being elected, Trump has welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Mar-a-Lago, as well as Argentine President, Javier Milei. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also visited Trump in Florida after the president-elect’s threat to impose tariffs on Canada.
photo: Photogram Agency
(ITALPRESS).
