Italy Summons Russian Ambassador Over Meloni Insults

Italy summoned the Russian ambassador in Rome on Tuesday to protest a barrage of insults directed at Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by a prominent Russian television host. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced the diplomatic action after Vladimir Solovyov, a state media figure, unleashed personal attacks against Meloni during a broadcast on his program "Full Contact" on April 16.

Solovyov, speaking in Italian and then switching to Russian, labeled Meloni a "disgrace to the human race," a "wild beast," a "certified idiot" and a "nasty little woman." He further described her as a "fascist creature" and "fascist scum" who had betrayed her voters by campaigning on different promises and even turned against former U.S. President Donald Trump, to whom she had once pledged loyalty. The remarks, which lasted about a minute, drew widespread condemnation in Italy for their inflammatory and sexist tone.

Tajani posted on the social media platform X that he had called in Ambassador Alexei Paramonov to the Foreign Ministry "to express formal protests following the extremely serious and offensive statements made by the host Vladimir Solovyov on Russian television." Meloni responded on X...