Italian leader Giorgia Meloni talked of “Ukraine fatigue” and bemoaned Europe’s inability to resolve the conflict during a phone call with two Russian pranksters.
The call with Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir ‘Vovan’ Kuznetsov was made on 2 April, two days after the pair had faked a conversation with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Ms Meloni, the leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, usually channels her support for Russian foreign policy. In the call, she speaks of her sympathy for the people of Ukraine and suggests that Europe and the United Nations should take action to resolve the conflict.
But she also expresses her disappointment at the lack of progress in the talks, saying “I think there is a certain Ukraine fatigue” and adding “the international community should do a little more”.
She also suggests that the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West are “not very effective” and expresses her support for Russia’s position in favour of a “federal Ukraine”.
Ms Meloni is not the first European politician to be fooled by the pranksters. Dutch MP Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron and Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have all been duped by the pair in the past.
