Did Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni say Italy opposes President Joe Biden's policy change that permits Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike deep into Russia? No, that's not true: There is no publicly available recording or transcript of Meloni expressing Italian opposition to the change. During the Group of 20 summit on November 18 and 19, 2024, shortly after Biden's policy reversal was made public, Meloni told reporters on camera she is committed to maintaining a united front against Russia's aggression.
The claim appeared in a November 19, 2024, post on X by @BRICSinfo (archived here). The post began: "JUST IN." It continued:
🇮🇹Italian Prime Minister Meloni says Italy does not support US President Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russia.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
(Source: X.com screenshot taken on Wed Nov 27 01:37 2024 UTC)
The Brics News report provides no audio, no video and no translation of Meloni's remarks. It declares, without evidence, that Italy does not support the U.S. policy change, which was to relax restrictions on Ukrainian use of American long-range missiles to strike deeper into Russia.
Video of Meloni responding on November 19, 2024, to press questions was posted by the prime minister's press office. It includes this segment (archived here), after her formal statement, in which she lays out Italy's support for a united coalition of Ukraine allies. Meloni explained Italy's focus on supporting Ukraine's anti-aircraft defenses, and she makes no statement in opposition to Biden's decision, saying it is a response to Russian aggression and that Italy stands with Ukraine.
Italian state-owned television channel Rai (archived here) translated into English her remarks about Biden's policy shift as follows:
Italy has made another choice, we have always focused on the issue of anti-aircraft defense, obviously I understand the point of view of other nations ... as long as there is a war in Ukraine we will be alongside Ukraine ... We have to do everything possible to not divide the Western front.
A report by Espreso.tv, an independent Ukraine-based news site in operation since 2013, corroborates that version of Meloni's remarks (archived here). Espreso reported that Meloni described the U.S. decision as a response to Russian aggression while Italy "Made a different choice."
Read other Lead Stories fact checks of claims about Giorgia Meloni here.
