Italian PM Miffed About Macron’s ‘Inappropriate’ Dinner Date with Zelensky
SALTY
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has lashed out at French President Emmanuel Macron for his decision to host Ukraine’s leader in Paris ahead of a European Union summit. Asked Thursday about a trip to Washington, D.C. by French and German ministers, Meloni promptly steered the conversation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to Agence France-Presse. “Frankly, the invitation to Zelensky yesterday seemed more inappropriate to me, because I think our strength in this fight is unity,” she was quoted saying. She went on to accuse Macron of prioritizing “domestic public opinion,” which she said “risks being detrimental to the cause.” Macron, who hosted Zelensky in Paris on Wednesday for a dinner also attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, seemed to shrug off Meloni’s criticism. He said Zelensky’s trip to Paris on the eve of his appearance in Brussels was his own choice. “What matters is that we are effective together and that we have a strategy that finds a way to a durable peace,” he said.