Paris (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The French government called in Italy’s ambassador after Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini contested French President Emmanuel Macron for proposing that European troops be stationed in Ukraine in a post-war arrangement, a French diplomatic source said on Saturday.
Matteo Salvini, known as the populist leader of the right-wing League group and Italian transport minister in Giorgia Meloni‘s nationalist, conservative administration, has frequently criticised the French president, particularly regarding Ukraine.
What did Salvini say about Macron’s troop deployment idea?
As reported, when asked to comment on French President Emmanuel Macron’s calls for deploying European troops in Ukraine following a settlement with Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini responded with a Milanese dialect phrase that roughly means “get lost.”
“You go there if you want. Put your helmet on, your jacket, your rifle and you go to Ukraine,”
He briefed journalists, referring to the French president.
How did France describe Salvini’s statements to the ambassador?
“The ambassador was reminded that these remarks ran counter to the climate of trust and the historical relationship between our two countries, as well as to recent bilateral developments, which have highlighted strong convergences between the two countries, particularly with regard to unwavering support for Ukraine,”
The source stated.
The Italian ambassador was summoned on Friday, according to a diplomatic source, continuing a series of diplomatic tensions between Paris and Rome that have occurred before and after Meloni assumed power in 2022.
Why did France recall its ambassador to Italy in 2019?
In another previous diplomatic tension between Paris and Rome in February 2019, Paris called its ambassador back to Italy for consultations – a serious diplomatic rupture between the two European Union allies.
This was an unprecedented move since World War II, and followed France’s remarks about
“repeated, baseless attacks and outrageous statements”
Made by Italian political leaders, primarily from the populist coalition government formed by the Five Star Movement and the League party.
How did Italian Foreign Minister Tajani retaliate against Paris in 2023?
In addition, in 2023, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani decided to cancel an official trip to Paris in response to comments from French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who had criticised Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government.
