Meloni: 'Tariffs increase a mistake, I told Trump. Let's work to avoid escalation"

Giorgia Meloni returns to the role of bridge between the two sides of the Atlantic. "The forecast of an increase in tariffs against those nations that have chosen to contribute to the security of Greenland is a mistake and I do not share it," the premier premised at the press point convened with Italian reporters present in Seoul. She then revealed that she had heard from Donald Trump, because - she explained - there was "a problem of understanding and communication" on the initiative of the eight European countries that decided to send soldiers to the Arctic as part of the Arctic Endurance exercise (Germany, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands). "It should not be read as 'anti-American'," says the premier. We must 'resume dialogue and avoid escalation'.

Meloni reiterates that he shares the US presidency's focus on Greenland and the Arctic in general, 'a strategic area in which excessive interference by actors that may be hostile must be avoided'. It was Trump himself who denounced the excessive presence of Russian and Chinese ships in the area. In this sense, he says, should be read the choice of some to send troops: it is the will 'to participate in greater security, not an initiative made against the United States, if anything against other actors'. This is clearly an argument to defuse tension.

The Prime Minister reiterates his conviction, already expressed yesterday in Tokyo, the same as that of the Defence Minister, Guido Crosetto (who had branded Arctic Endurance as "a joke", given the very small number of military personnel involved): the right sphere in which to share any initiative in the Arctic is NATO. That is why, after Trump, whom he described as 'interested in listening', he also heard NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. "It confirms to me a job that" the Alliance "is starting to do". "In the course of the day," the premier added, "I will also hear from European leaders.

 An initial confrontation between the Twenty-Seven is already planned today at Coreper level, between ambassadors. And Meloni points to the 'common sense positions' taken by some, quoting the Finnish president Alexander Stubb. 'Finland,' he had said yesterday, 'believes that issues between allies must be resolved through dialogue and common rules of the game, not through pressure. The dialogue with the United States continues. Tariffs would damage transatlantic relations and could trigger a spiral of unrest'. It is the same attempt as Meloni's: to avert tariffs, to sit around the table again. That is, if Trump really cares.

While the press point is underway, the League of Matteo Salvini spreads a vitriolic note on the 'weaklings of Europe' who have the 'urge' to send soldiers and reap their 'bitter fruits'. Asked for a comment, Meloni replied dryly: 'Nthere is no political problem with the League on this point'. But the stigma is evident. The differences in approach between firemen and arsonists as well.