Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni traveled to Florida on Saturday to meet US President-elect Donald Trump, as Europe’s top leader sought to strengthen ties with Trump ahead of his January 20 inauguration.
Members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort greeted Meloni with applause after an introduction from the president-elect, according to videos shared on social media by reporters and others.
His trip comes days before he meets US President Joe Biden during a visit to Rome from Thursday to January 12. Trump defeated Biden in the November election and is preparing to return to the White House.
Although no details of their meeting were disclosed, Meloni had planned to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine, trade issues, the Middle East and the fate of an Italian journalist detained in Tehran with Trump, according to the Italian media.
Meloni’s office declined to comment on the reports.
She is seen as a potentially strong partner for Trump given her conservative credentials and the stability of the right-wing coalition she leads in Italy. She also formed a close relationship with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, a close Trump ally who spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars helping him win the election.
“It’s very exciting. I’m here with a fantastic woman, the Prime Minister of Italy,” Trump told the Mar-a-Lago crowd, according to a media report. “She really took Europe by storm.”
Trump and Meloni then sat down to watch a documentary questioning the criminal investigations and legal oversight facing John Eastman, a former Trump lawyer who played a central role in Trump’s unsuccessful effort to overturn his election defeat. 2020.
One of the biggest challenges Meloni faces is the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Iran on December 19.
Sala was arrested three days after Mohammad Abedini, an Iranian businessman, was arrested at Milan Malpensa airport on a US arrest warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says , were used in a 2023 attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan. Iran has denied any involvement in the attack.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Italian ambassador on Friday over Abedini’s detention, Iranian state media reported.
Meloni became the latest of a handful of foreign leaders to visit Trump in Florida since the Nov. 5 election. He met with Argentine President Javier Milei, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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