Trump was seen deep in conversation with Meloni at the G7, where they were photographed on a small sofa. “She begged me to take a photo with her. I felt sorry for her,” Trump claimed. Meloni is furiousThe pair were seen deep in conversation on a small sofa in France(Image: Palazzo Chigi press office/AFP via Getty Images)Donald Trump has sparked an explosive row with Italy after claiming PM Giorgia Meloni “begged” him for a photo.”Italy and I never beg,” Meloni fumed in a response video, accusing Trump of lying and of cosying up to enemies of the West. Trump was seen deep in conversation with Meloni at the G7, where they were photographed on a small sofa. “She begged me to take a photo with her. I felt sorry for her,” Trump told Italian TV channel La7 in a brief phone interview. “She’s probably happy I spoke to her.”A furious Meloni published an Instagram video hitting back at Trump’s claims, saying she was “frankly stunned”. “I don’t know why the US president behaves this way towards allies,” Meloni said, saying it was not the first time it had happened. In April, Trump spoke to Italian daily Corriere della Sera in April in which he criticised Meloni’s refusal to back the Iran war. Meloni didn’t respond publicly at the time.”I can only say it is regrettable he does not show the same determination towards the enemies of the West and towards the enemies of the US – whose leaders he instead appears to be far more accommodating with,” she said in her video today. She added: “There is one thing he needs to remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg.”Some tense moments were caught on camera at the summit(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)The bust up has prompted Italy’s deputy PM to cancel a trip to the US planned for early next week. Antonio Tajani abruptly called Trump’s claims “serious and offensive” toward Meloni and all of Italy.Trump’s push to quickly begin high-stakes talks with Iran has already hit a snag, just days after the signing of a preliminary peace deal. Iranian officials did not travel to Switzerland as planned yesterday, with sources saying Israeli strikes on Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon must stop before the talks can take place.Content cannot be displayed without consentThe situation was fluid as Israel and Hezbollah agreed on Friday to renew their ceasefire, according to a US official and regional officials. It remains to be seen whether that could help put the US-Iran talks back on track. In Washington, President Donald Trump lashed out once again in the midst of the intensified fighting in Lebanon and the stalled nuclear talks.“We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did,” Trump wrote in a social media post Friday. “They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”
