FLASH
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Less than a week after the visit to Kiev, four European leaders appeared together again in Tirana.
Immediately after the end of the European Political Community summit, Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Friedrich Merz and Donald Tusk withdrew for an urgent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This meeting was aimed at increasing support for Ukraine, at a time when hopes for negotiations in Istanbul between Kiev and Moscow had faded – their first meeting lasted less than two hours.
The leaders called Donald Trump to pressure the US president to impose new sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, Italy stayed out of the discussion.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did not attend either the visit to Kiev or the mini-summit in Tirana. Sensing or perhaps knowing that she would not be included in the call with Trump, Meloni attempted to take the initiative as soon as she arrived in Tirana.
In the lobby of the Opera House, while Macron was still on his way, she met briefly with Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Starmer and Tusk. The footage was filmed and distributed by her office, in an attempt to show her presence after her absence on the train to Kiev and photos of Macron, Trump, Starmer and Zelensky appearing together at the Vatican during Pope Francis' funeral.
There has been no official comment yet from Meloni's cabinet on this sensational exclusion, which comes after Italy's refusal to sign the "Goodwill" declaration. While the transatlantic call was taking place, Meloni was holding bilateral meetings with von der Leyen, Turkish President Erdogan, Swiss President Keller-Sutter and Cyprus's Christodoulides.
Later, on the sidelines of the summit, Meloni declared: " Italy has long made it clear that it is not ready to send troops to Ukraine. It makes no sense to participate in formats that have objectives for which we have not given approval."
But Emmanuel Macron reacted immediately: "There is a misunderstanding. We did not discuss sending troops. The aim was to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine, both on Sunday and today. Let's be careful with the spread of false information - we already have enough from Russia."
A European diplomatic source told La Repubblica that Meloni “excluded himself from the conversation.” According to this source, it was not only the content of the Italian criticism that was aggravating, especially on the idea of sending troops, but also the manner of his behavior – the demonstrative delay at the first Paris summit in February, the uncertainty about his participation in future meetings and the frustration caused to some diplomatic advisers.
The tense relations between Melon and Macron have significantly influenced this distancing.
Macron officials, however, avoid public comment and do not provide explanations as to why Meloni was not invited on the trip to Kiev.
Now the foursome seems more consolidated than ever. When the "Goodwill Ambassadors" along with Zelensky called Trump, the American president was over Europe, aboard Air Force One, returning from Abu Dhabi.
"We discussed with Trump to emphasize that it is unacceptable that Russia does not respond to the demands made by the US, supported by Ukraine and Europe. There is no ceasefire, there is no decisive meeting," Macron declared to reporters on behalf of the four.
In front of 40 leaders of the European Political Community – including 27 from the EU – Macron had stated: "If it is confirmed that the Russian delegation is there only for show and has no concrete purpose, then everyone must take responsibility. The last hours clearly show that Russia has no will at all to negotiate a ceasefire."
According to European sources, the call with Trump was aimed at increasing pressure on the US to adopt new sanctions against Moscow.
"Putin must pay the price for rejecting peace. His tactics – stalling, buying time, while continuing to kill and bleed in Ukraine – are intolerable ," Starmer declared.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen backed the idea of escalating restrictive measures. “We want peace, but we must increase the pressure until President Putin is ready to accept it,” she said, announcing that a new package of sanctions was being prepared.
Zelensky also stressed that if the Istanbul negotiations fail, the international community must react strongly - including with new sanctions.
France has already embraced this line. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, during an informal NATO meeting in Turkey, called for “destructive” measures against Russia. He referred to a proposal by US Senator Lindsey Graham for an extreme sanctions package:
500% tariff on Russian oil imports and the same tax on countries that continue to buy it.
"This is a way to choke Russia ," said Barrot./ La Repubblica
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