Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has canceled a planned trip to the United States in response to comments made by former President Donald Trump about Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Trump’s comments, which were made in an interview with an Italian media outlet, claimed that Meloni had “begged” him for a photo at a recent summit.

Response from Meloni

Meloni has refuted Trump’s claims, stating that they are “completely fabricated” and that she is “frankly shocked” by Trump’s behavior towards his allies. Tajani also called Trump’s comments “offensive” and announced that he would be canceling his trip to the US, where he was scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The incident is the latest in a series of diplomatic tensions between the US and Italy, and comes after signs of repair at the recent G7 summit in France. The cancellation of Tajani’s trip is seen as a significant setback in efforts to improve relations between the two countries.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.