Italy Summons Russian Ambassador After State TV Host Insults PM Meloni

Italy has taken official diplomatic action following highly critical remarks made by a Russian television host about Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The harsh language used on Russian state television prompted an immediate response from Rome. This event has highlighted the increasing tension between Moscow and European leaders as diplomatic channels were quickly activated to address the situation, according to Mezha on April 21.

Russian television presenter Vladimir Solovyov made the offensive comments during a broadcast of his program. He used both Russian and Italian to deliver several insults directed at the Italian Prime Minister. During the segment, Solovyov accused the head of the Italian government of betraying her political allies and used derogatory terms to describe her.

According to the broadcast, Solovyov stated, “Fascist, a certified idiot, a bad woman… PuttaMeloni. A disgrace to the human race. Betrayal is her middle name: she betrayed Trump, to whom she had previously sworn loyalty.”

The presenter also discussed broader relations between Russia and Europe. He claimed that the European Union was directly involved in the situation following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Solovyov later returned to his criticism of the Italian Prime Minister during the same program.

He said, “Europe has entered into a direct war with us, we heard it from Merz's statements… this Meloni is a fascist creature who betrayed her voters… But betrayal is her middle name.” These statements led the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to call for official explanations.

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Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that he instructed the ministry to summon Russian Ambassador Alexei Paramonov to register a formal protest. Tajani described the remarks as extremely serious and offensive.

He expressed his full solidarity and support for Prime Minister Meloni. Additionally, Italian President Sergio Mattarella sent a private message of support to Meloni, expressing his own concern over the insults. This incident marks another period of high tension in the diplomatic relationship between Italy and Russia.

Earlier, the European Commission threatened to freeze €2 million ($2.2 million) in funding for the Venice Biennale following the institution's decision to reopen the Russian pavilion for the 2026 exhibition.

This move escalated tensions between Brussels and Italian authorities, as the Commission’s culture agency initiated a procedure to potentially revoke financial support through 2028.

While Italian officials and the Biennale foundation argued that the participation of Russian artists did not violate existing sanctions, Ukrainian representatives and EU commissioners condemned the decision. They maintained that granting Russia a platform was unacceptable while the Kremlin continued to destroy Ukrainian cultural heritage during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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