Europe · Thursday, 15 October 2026
Meloni calls Trump's Russian-diesel deal 'very risky', says it hands Moscow legitimacy

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni told parliament on Wednesday that Washington's decision to let Russia resume diesel exports is 'a very risky choice' that legitimises Moscow while its bombs still fall on Ukraine, before traveling to the EU summit in Brussels. She called for the EU's 27 states to name one envoy to negotiate with Washington and Moscow rather than leaving it to France, Germany and Britain alone; Zelenskyy thanked her on social media for 'recognising the aggressor'. Her own deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, said Italy cannot keep sending Ukraine money as gifts.