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Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has held talks with the leaders on France and Slovakia, with the war in Ukraine and a lasting peace deal for the country topping the agenda during both rounds of discussions.
Meloni first received Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico who arrived at the prime minister’s residence, the Chigi Palace, at around 4pm.
According to a statement released by the Slovak government, the two leaders discussed the development of bilateral relations and the possibility of further cooperation in the field of energy.
“I really appreciate the pragmatic approach of your Prime Minister. I really like your pragmatic way of dealing with issues,” Fico told reporters following the meeting.
“We focused on the war in Ukraine. The President of the Council was very interested in my position, since Slovakia is a neighbouring country, of course,” he said.
“We discussed the issue of repowering, that is, what will happen in Europe when all energy supplies from Russia will no longer reach the European Union.”
“I think there are countries in the EU that want to prolong this war with the idea that this is the way to harm Russia. I don’t think this strategy works,” Fico stressed.
Fico is a divisive figure at home with his critics accusing him of being pro-Russia. In January, Fico threatened to cut financial aid for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees living in the country as part of a set of retaliatory measures against Kyiv over its decision to halt the flow of Russian gas through its territory to Slovakia.
He has also said that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO, stopped military aid to Ukraine and criticised EU sanctions on Russia, all views which are largely at odds with the European mainstream.
Fico and Meloni “discussed their support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and their commitment to the reconstruction of the country in view of the Ukraine Recovery Conference that Italy will host in July 2025,” a joint government statement said.
Talks with Macron
Later on Tuesday, Meloni welcomes France’s President Emmanuel Macron to the Chigi Palace for talks which covered Ukraine, Gaza and relations with the European Union and the Trump administration.
“Prime Minister Meloni is part of the collective format of the Coalition of the Willing. She was present in the meetings in Paris and London, Italy is an important partner,” the Elysée Palace said in a statement released on Monday.
That was a reference to a group of European countries spearheaded by Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer primarily to continue support for Ukraine’s armed forces. The group is also working on the creation of a reassurance force that could be deployed to Ukraine as an additional security guarantee in a post-war scenario.
In addition to Italy, the coalition also includes Germany, Denmark, Greece, Portugal and Romania among others.
Italy’s government said that both countries have “common positions” on many issues and expectations were high for productive talks but the leaders’ opinions don’t align on all issues.
There have been differences of position regarding military support for Ukraine with Macron adopting a more aggressive stance while Italy has generally remained cooler.
Macron has hinted at western boots on the ground in Ukraine while Meloni favours extending NATO’s mutual defence agreement under Article 5 to Kyiv, an idea which hasn’t found much support among allies.
Meloni was noticeably absent from Macron’s mid-May trip to Kyiv with Starmer and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
And a week later she also didn’t attend a working meeting of the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing in Tirana on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit.
Tuesday’s meeting and working dinner were expected to bridge some of those gaps and see discussions on economic cooperation between Italy and France, with Meloni hoping to find common ground with Macron on addressing migration and transatlantic relations.