US Vice President JD Vance was in Rome Friday for talks with far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, before celebrating Easter at the Vatican and a meeting with the pope's right-hand man.
Meloni shares conservative views with Vance and President Donald Trump, whom she met in Washington just a day before on a charm offensive aiming for a US-EU tariffs deal.
Trump's threatened tariffs could have a major impact on Italy, the world's fourth-largest exporter, which sends around 10 percent of its exports to the United States.
The trip is also Vance's first back to Europe since delivering a combative speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, in which he lambasted the EU's members on culture war issues while calling for the bloc to "step up" in managing its own security.
Vance is to meet Meloni at 11:00 am (0900 GMT), and is also due to talk with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, the second-highest official at the Holy See after Pope Francis.
The 40-year-old Vance, who converted to Catholicism in his mid-30s, travelled with his wife and three young children, with the family due to celebrate Easter at the Vatican on Sunday.
Meloni was the first leader from Europe to visit Trump since he slapped 20 percent tariffs on EU exports, which he has since suspended for 90 days.
The two leaders struck a warm tone Thursday during a working lunch and a meeting in the Oval Office, with Trump hailing the 48-year-old Italian premier as "fantastic."
Casting herself as the only European who can de-escalate Trump's trade war, Meloni highlighted their conservative common ground and said she wanted to "make the West great again."
Meloni's decision to personally intercede with Trump has caused some disquiet among EU allies, who are concerned that her visit could undermine bloc unity.
While Trump expressed confidence about an eventual deal with the 27-nation bloc he accuses of trying to "screw" the United States, he said on Thursday that he was in "no rush."
Russia's war in Ukraine meanwhile remained a touchy subject between the US and Italian leaders.
Meloni has been a staunch ally of Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia's invasion of the country in 2022, most recently calling Moscow's Palm Sunday attack on the city of Sumy "horrible and vile."
Trump however has stunned allies with a pivot toward Moscow and repeated attacks on Zelensky, whom he and Vance berated in an Oval Office meeting in February.
The US leader said with Meloni beside him that "I don't hold Zelensky responsible but I'm not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war started," adding that he was "not a big fan" of the Ukrainian leader.
With AFP
Comments