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India can play a role in resolving Ukraine conflict, says Meloni

Dubai, Dec 1 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni at the annual Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 28) Leadership Pavilion, in Dubai on Friday. (ANI Photo)

Zelensky appreciated Italy’s decision to host the next Ukraine Recovery Conference in 2025….reports Asian Lite News

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday and discussed reconstruction of Ukraine’s energy system. She later said that India can play a role in resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Zelensky said in a post on X after his meeting with Meloni that he deeply appreciated Italy’s decision to host the next Ukraine Recovery Conference in 2025.

He also thanked Italy for its support and joint efforts for restoring “just peace”.

“On the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum, I had a meeting with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni. One of the key topics we discussed was Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, particularly focusing on the restoration of our energy system. We deeply appreciate Italy’s decision to host the next Ukraine Recovery Conference in 2025,” he said.

“We also spoke about the implementation of the Peace Formula, where Italy plays an active role in each of its points. I thank Giorgia and the Italian people for their support and joint efforts in restoring a just peace,” he added.

A release from Ukraine President’s office said that he informed Meloni about “the situation on the battlefield”.

He thanked for all the allocated military and technical assistance packages and “emphasized the importance of transferring the relevant weapons to Ukraine as soon as possible”.

“We are very grateful to you and your team, to all the Italian people, for the support you have provided us,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky spoke about Ukraine’s next steps on its path to European integration and praised Italy’s support.

After her meeting with Zelensky, Meloni said India and China can play a role in resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“China and India have a role to play in resolving this conflict. The only thing that cannot happen is to believe the conflict can be solved by abandoning Ukraine,” Meloni said according to Italian Government TV, cited by Reuters.

Meloni had a bilateral meeting today with Zelensky on the sidelines of the annual conference of The European House – Ambrosetti (TEHA) Forum at Cernobbio on Lake Como.

She reiterated Italy’s support to Kyiv as it battles against the Russian forces of invasion, ANSA reported. The Italian news agency cited Meloni telling reporters later that the 40-minute meeting went off well. “If the rules of international law are discarded, crises and chaos will multiply,” Meloni told the forum as per the report in ANSA.

“I have said this to my Chinese counterparts too,” the Italian PM said, according to the report. “The only thing that cannot be done is to abandon Ukraine to its fate, Meloni said, adding, “This is the choice that Italy had made, and which will not change”. Meloni’s office, in a statement, also “reiterated that support for Ukraine is a top priority on the Italian G7 Presidency’s agenda and reaffirmed the ongoing commitment to Ukraine’s legitimate defence and to a just and lasting peace”.

The statement published by the Italian news outlet said they also addressed the issue of reconstruction ahead of the next Ukraine Recovery Conference which will be held in Italy in 2025.The news outlet quoted a statement from Meloni’s office which said that the two leaders discussed the latest on ground developments and Ukraine’s most urgent needs ahead of winter and “in the face of continuing Russian attacks against the civilian population and critical infrastructure”

Meloni’s remarks follow Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement on Thursday that India, China and Brazil could mediate in potential peace talks over Ukraine. Addressing the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), the Russian leader stated that leaders of India, Brazil, and China are making a sincere effort to contribute to resolving the situation in Ukraine.  (ANI)

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Meloni rebukes party’s youth wing for glorifying fascism

Meloni has decried the fascist regime’s anti-Jewish racial laws and the suppression of democracy, but critics have long said she has not done enough to distance herself from her party’s neo-fascist roots…reports Asian Lite News

Italian Premier Giorgia Melon i has admonished the youth wing of her far-right Brothers of Italy party after an Italian news outlet published videos showing some of its members glorifying fascism.

“I have said and repeated dozens of times, but perhaps I need to repeat it: There is no space in Brothers of Italy for racist or antisemitic positions, just as there is no space for nostalgics of totalitarianism of the 1900s, or for any other show of stupid folklore,’’ Meloni said in a letter to her party published by Italian media on Tuesday.

The online news outlet Fanpage released the videos last month filmed with a hidden camera by a journalist posing as an activist with Brothers of Italy’s youth wing. They showed members of the group praising the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, doing fascist salutes and yelling the Nazi cry “Sieg Heil.”

Meloni has decried the fascist regime’s anti-Jewish racial laws and the suppression of democracy, but critics have long said she has not done enough to distance herself from her party’s neo-fascist roots.

The Brothers of Italy has its origins in the Italian Social Movement, or MSI, which was founded in 1946 by former Mussolini officials and drew fascist sympathizers into its ranks. It remained a small far-right party until the 1990s, when it became the National Alliance and worked to distance itself from its neo-fascist past.

Meloni was a member of the youth branches of MSI and the National Alliance, and founded Brothers of Italy in 2012, keeping the tricolor flame symbol of the MSI in her party logo.

Liliana Segre, a 93-year-old senator for life and Holocaust survivor, told Italy’s La7 private television that such sentiments had always existed in Italy but that with the new far-right-led government “they don’t have shame in anything.”

She said the Nazi mottos had revived memories of being deported. “Now at my age, will I be forced from my country, as I was already once?”

ALSO READ-Italian Senate approves constitutional reform by Meloni govt 

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Trudeau-Meloni Event Cancelled Amid Pro-Palestine Protests

Neither Trudeau nor Meloni were able to enter the place as the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) went into lockdown following protests….reports Asian Lite News

An event in Toronto where Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was scheduled to host his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, was cancelled on Saturday due to ‘security concerns’ after hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the venue, CBC News reported citing Trudeau’s office.

Neither Trudeau nor Meloni were able to enter the place as the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) went into lockdown following protests.

The protestors criticized the Canadian government’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war and alleged that “Trudeau was funding a genocide in Gaza.”

“Due to security concerns, the event was cancelled,” a spokesperson for the PMO said.

Police said that there were 200-300 protesters outside the gallery, but noted it was difficult to estimate the total size of the demonstration as protesters gathered outside several entrances.

Would-be attendees gathered outside were confronted by demonstrators, with their entry paths blocked. Some were later escorted to the building’s entrance by police.

International Development Minister, Ahmed Hussein tried to enter through the main entrance, but protesters blocked his path and followed him for two blocks as he tried to enter a more secure location while flanked by police, according to CBC News.

“You are complicit in the genocide. Your hands are red. You are complicit in the murder of my family members and my friends,” one demonstrator chanted at him.

Italian PM Meloni, was in Toronto to hold meetings with Trudeau. The two G7 leaders discussed a wide range of topics, including the crisis in the Middle East.

Hamas carried out a terror attack on Israel on October 7 killing over 1200 people and taking around 250 people as hostages.

Following this, Israel launched a massive counter-offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But, the military operation has so far claimed more than 30,000 lives, according to Gaza health officials.

Canada considers Hamas a ‘terrorist group’ and has repeatedly said that “Israel has the right to defend itself”. Lately, Ottawa called for a ceasefire in the conflict due to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, CBC News reported. (ANI)

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Modi holds talks with Meloni

This is the second visit of Prime Minister Meloni to India following her State visit in March 2023, during which bilateral relations were raised to the level of a Strategic Partnership…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of the Italian Republic on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

This is the second visit of Prime Minister Meloni to India following her State visit in March 2023, during which bilateral relations were raised to the level of a Strategic Partnership.

The two leaders noted with satisfaction the completion of 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. They also took stock of the progress in diverse areas of the India-Italy Strategic Partnership and agreed to bolster cooperation in areas like defence and new and emerging technologies. They noted the need for G7 and G20 to work in consonance for the greater global good.

“I had excellent meeting with PM@GiorgiaMeloni. Our talks covered sectors such as trade, commerce, defence, emerging technologies and more. India and Italy will keep working together for global prosperity,” PM Modi posted on X.The meeting between the two leaders was held at the Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, the venue of the two-day Summit.(ANI)

ALSO READ-Meloni seeks India’s help in Ukraine

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Italian PM Meloni pledges support for Ukraine

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (C) addresses the lower house of Italy's parliament in Rome, Italy, on Oct. 25, 2022. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua/IANS)

Following the call, Zelenskyy thanked Meloni via social media for her “solidarity and comprehensive support” and said Italy was considering providing Kyiv with air defense systems…reports Asian Lite News

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday reaffirmed the Italian government’s “full support” for Ukraine in the political, military, economic, and humanitarian fields as the ongoing war in Ukraine has caused widespread devastation.

Meloni extended support to the war-stricken country following a phone call with Zelenskyy and pledged support for Kyiv and reiterated its commitment to achieving a “just peace” for Ukraine.

“[Prime Minister] Meloni renewed the Italian government’s full support for Kyiv in the political, military, economic and humanitarian fields, to repair energy infrastructure and [to work] for the future reconstruction of Ukraine,” said an official statement.

Following the call, Zelenskyy thanked Meloni via social media for her “solidarity and comprehensive support” and said Italy was considering providing Kyiv with air defense systems.

“Thanked @GiorgiaMeloni for solidarity and comprehensive support for. Commended government’s allocation of additional EUR10 million in aid. Mrs. Meloni informed that the issue of providing air defense systems to protect skies is being considered. We discussed #PeaceFormula,” Zelenskyy tweeted.

Earlier on Monday, in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday exchanged views about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. PM Modi strongly reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, saying that both sides should revert to dialogue and diplomacy to find a lasting solution to their differences, read Prime Minister’s Office press release.

He also conveyed India’s support for any peace efforts and assured India’s commitment to continue providing humanitarian assistance for the affected civilian population, added the release.

Zelenskyy, in a phone call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, sought India’s help in the implementation of a peace formula with Russia.

“I had a phone call with PM Modi & wished a successful G20 presidency. It was on this platform that I announced the peace formula and now I count on India’s participation in its implementation. I also thanked for humanitarian aid and support in the UN,” tweeted the Ukrainian President.

Meanwhile, the President of Ukraine conveyed his best wishes for India’s Presidency of the G20.

ALSO READ-Far-right Meloni named Italy’s first woman PM

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Far-right Meloni named Italy’s first woman PM

Giorgia Meloni (C), leader of the Brothers of Italy party, arrives at a polling station in Rome, Italy, Sept. 25, 2022. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni/IANS)

It won 26 percent of the vote last month, compared to eight and nine percent respectively for her allies Forza Italia and the far-right League…reports Asian Lite News

Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italian prime minister on Saturday, to become the first woman to head a government in Italy.

Meloni took the oath before President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, once home to popes and kings of Italy.

Her post-fascist Brothers of Italy party — Eurosceptic and anti-immigration — won the Sept 25 legislative polls but needed outside support to form a government.

Meloni’s appointment is an historic event for the eurozone’s third largest economy and for Brothers of Italy, which has never been in government.

It won 26 percent of the vote last month, compared to eight and nine percent respectively for her allies Forza Italia and the far-right League.

Meloni’s list of 24 ministers, including six women, revealed a desire to reassure Italy’s partners. She named Giancarlo Giorgetti as economy minister, who served under the previous government of Mario Draghi.

Giorgetti, a former minister of economic development, is considered one of the more moderate, pro-Europe members of Matteo Salvini’s League.

Meloni also named ex-European Parliament president Antonio Tajani, of Forza Italia, as foreign minister and deputy prime minister. Salvini will serve as deputy prime minister and minister of infrastructure and transport.

That appointment is likely to disappoint Salvini, who wanted Meloni to give him the role of interior minister again after he previously held the post between 2018 and 2019.

The position went instead to a technocrat, Rome prefect Matteo Piantedosi. A formal ceremony for the handover of power from Draghi to Meloni will take place on Sunday before the premier leads the first cabinet meeting.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Meloni on her appointment. “I count on and look forward to constructive cooperation with the new government on the challenges we face together,” she tweeted on Saturday, while European Parliament speaker Roberta Metsola tweeted in Italian that “Europe needs Italy”. US President Joe Biden congratulated Meloni and called Italy a “vital Nato ally and close partner.”

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