France summons Italian ambassador over challenge to Macron on Ukraine
PARIS,
Aug 23 (Reuters) - France summoned the Italian ambassador after Italy's
deputy prime minister challenged the French president for suggesting
that European soldiers be deployed in Ukraine in a post-war settlement, a
French diplomatic source said on Saturday.
Asked earlier this week to comment on French President Emmanuel Macron's appeals
to deploy European soldiers in Ukraine after any settlement with
Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini used a Milanese dialect
phrase loosely translatable as "get lost".
"You
go there if you want. Put your helmet on, your jacket, your rifle and
you go to Ukraine," he told reporters, referring to Macron.
Salvini,
the populist leader of the right-wing League party and also Italy's
transport minister in the nationalist, conservative government led by
Giorgia Meloni, has repeatedly criticized Macron, especially over
Ukraine.
The
Italian ambassador was summoned on Friday, the diplomatic source said,
marking the latest in a series of diplomatic clashes between Paris and
Rome before and after Meloni took power in 2022.
"The
ambassador was reminded that these remarks ran counter to the climate
of trust and the historical relationship between our two countries, as
well as to recent bilateral developments, which have highlighted strong
convergences between the two countries, particularly with regard to
unwavering support for Ukraine," the source said.
Macron, a vocal supporter of Ukraine over its war with Russia, has been working with other world leaders, notably British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to mobilise support for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
