Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has emerged as the US president’s favourite EU interlocutor, with hopes growing she could talk him out of a trade war.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni promised to keep supporting Ukraine, as the leader of the embattled nation, Volodymyr Zelensky, reached Rome for talks on Thursday evening. Meloni welcomed Zelensky at her official residence for a private discussion that lasted just under an hour.

Giorgia Meloni’s presence at Donald Trump’s inauguration aimed to reinforce her status as a privileged interlocutor of the new US administration. But this position carries risks for Italy and the EU.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of the European leaders closest to Donald Trump, said on Thursday she believed the U.S. president-elect would defend Western interests once he took office and would not abandon Ukraine.

NEWS ANALYSIS. The blatant ideological convergence between the far-right Italian prime minister and the Donald Trump and Elon Musk duo could make the Italian leader the European bridgehead of a reactionary and nationalist international.

He hails a fantastic woman sweeping all before her in Europe. She praises a strong and shrewd defender of the West. Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni are fast forging a new transatlantic "special relationship".

PM says her relationship with U.S. president-elect is “very solid” and insists his recent incendiary remarks flow from a “peace-through-strength” approach.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Rome on Thursday for evening talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She welcomed Zelensky to her official residence for their discussion, television footage showed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome and discussed critical issues, including Ukraine's defence needs and progress toward European Union membership.

Lago, an invitation to Monday's inauguration and good relations with Elon Musk, Italy's Giorgia Meloni has positioned herself as the closest mainstream European leader to Donald Trump.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose rise to power in Rome two years ago sparked panic among the European political establishment, may now be the continent’s best hope to have one of its own in the good graces of the Trump White House.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday said she doesn’t believe President-elect Trump has a plan to purchase Greenland or acquire it through military force. “I think we can exclude that