Meloni attacks Macron: “It is inappropriate to invite Zelensky to Paris”. The reply: “We have a particular role”
Relations between Rome and Paris became tense again. Giorgia Meloni harshly criticized the summit held yesterday at the Elysée between Emmanuel Macron, Volodimir Zelensky and Olaf Scholz. An invitation to the Ukrainian president, judged “inappropriate” by the Prime Minister, who spoke in Brussels before today’s European Council, in which Zelensky will also take part.
A clear judgement, which arrived in response to the question whether “the mission of France and Germany in Washington was inappropriate”, in reference to the trip of the economy ministers of the two countries to discuss the fallout from Joe Biden’s “Inflation Reduction Act” . “Frankly, yesterday’s invitation to Zelensky seemed more inappropriate to me,” replied the head of government. “Because I believe that our strength in this matter is unity and I understand the pressures of internal politics, the fact of favoring internal public opinion, but there are times when favoring one’s own internal public opinion risks to the detriment of the cause and this seems to me to be one of those cases”.
“I have no comments to make,” Macron replied. “I wanted to receive President Zelensky with Chancellor Scholz, I think we were in our role”, added the French president, recalling that Germany and France “have had a particular role for eight years on the” Ukrainian issue, “because we also conducted this process together, I think it is also up to Zelensky to choose the format he wants” for the diplomatic talks. Eight months ago, the then head of the Italian government, Mario Draghi, also visited Kiev together with Macron and Scholz. His successor, on the other hand, will have to be content with meeting Zelensky in Brussels, after the European Council.
