Italy PM Giorgia Meloni Criticised For Falling Prey To Russian Prank

Italy PM Giorgia Meloni has been criticised by the opposition leader, Guiseppe Conte for being duped into discussing geopolitical security matters with Russian pranksters. It was reported on Thursday that Meloni was misled into sharing information with the notorious comedian-duo Vovan and Lexus masking as African politicians on September 18th.

Opposition party Five Star Movement's Conte attacked Meloni in a tweet, calling her a "planetary fool"  for falling prey to the pranksters. He claimed it was serious damage for the country and a deception for Italians. 

Il nostro Presidente del Consiglio Giorgia Meloni pensava di parlare con un alto rappresentante africano invece era al telefono con due comici russi, a cui ha spiegato le posizioni del nostro Paese su dossier delicatissimi per la nostra sicurezza e credibilità, dalla guerra ai… pic.twitter.com/CRn5GCFZjp

— Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) November 1, 2023

Agreeing with Conte, Matteo Renzi of the Italia Viva party, who served as Italy's Prime Minister in the 2010s, also condoned the situation as a shame for the incumbent government. He tweeted in response to Conte, demanding answers from Meloni.

Bravo Conte, stavolta hai ragione.
La Premier Meloni deve rispondere dell'inganno dei due comici russi. E tu invece quando risponderai per aver fatto entrare l'esercito RUSSO in Italia durante la pandemia?
Quelli erano soldati, non comici.
Caro Conte, la tua doppia morale ti… https://t.co/AawP56Km9G

— Matteo Renzi (@matteorenzi) November 2, 2023

Discourse on sensitive geopolitics

Giorgia Meloni stated during the call that there was "a lot of fatigue" with the Ukraine war and that everyone would soon realise that a solution acceptable to both sides was required. Conte responded to this by criticising her for sending weapons and escalating the military in Ukraine, in spite of knowing that there is a peaceful way out.

Further, Meloni's conversation with the pranksters reportedly included Kyiv's failure to secure territory against Russia during the summer counteroffensive, European energy security, and illegal migration in the EU.

Meloni's office said that the prank call occurred during her period of attempting to strengthen relations with African leaders, whom she was supposed to meet between September 19th and 21st, during the UN General Assembly gathering.

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