Italy Summons Russian Ambassador After Vladimir Solovyov Insults Giorgia Meloni

A diplomatic dispute between Italy and Russia has been driven by insults aimed at Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni after US President Donald Trump criticized her and Russian television personality Vladimir Solovyov attacked her on air.

“Dual insults — one from the US president and another from a Russian commentator — flung at Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni appear to be uniting at least some of her critics behind her”

CNN

CNN reports that Trump decried Meloni as “unacceptable” after she stood up to him over his criticism of Pope Leo XIV, telling Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, “She is the one who is unacceptable because she doesn’t care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if it had the chance,” and adding, “I’m shocked by her. I thought she had courage. I was wrong.”

CNN

In parallel, CNN says Solovyov called Meloni a “certifiable idiot” and “disgrace to the human race” over her “betrayal” of Trump and support of Ukraine, prompting Italy to summon the Russian ambassador and Meloni to post a response on X.

The Saudi Gazette similarly describes Italy summoning the Russian ambassador in Rome after pro-Kremlin television host Vladimir Solovyev delivered “a stream of insults” against Meloni, quoting Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

POLITICO.eu adds that the fracas followed a one-minute segment aired on April 16, in which Solovyov tore into Meloni, calling her a “certified idiot” and “fascist scum.”

Across the accounts, the insults and the subsequent diplomatic steps have become a political test for Meloni at home, with CNN saying the barbs “appear to be uniting at least some of her critics behind her.”

Italy’s response began with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who said he summoned the Russian ambassador to formally protest the remarks.

The Saudi Gazette reports that Tajani said on X, “I had the Russian Russian Ambassador, Alexey Paramonov, summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express formal protests following the extremely serious and offensive remarks made by the host Vladimir Solovyev on Russian television.”

POLITICO.eu

POLITICO.eu likewise says Tajani denounced “the “extremely serious and offensive statements” broadcast on Russian state television and that Italy summoned Russia’s ambassador to Rome on Tuesday to protest a Kremlin-aligned pundit’s profanity-laced tirade against Meloni.

In POLITICO.eu’s account, the segment aired on April 16 included Solovyov calling Meloni a “certified idiot” and “fascist scum,” and also accusing her of betraying both her voters and U.S. President Donald Trump after she criticized his attack on Pope Leo XIV.

The same POLITICO.eu report says Solovyov referred to Meloni as “PuttaMeloni,” or “Meloni the whore,” during the broadcast.

Meloni’s own reply, described by CNN and echoed in POLITICO.eu, framed the insults as propaganda and insisted Italy would not change course, with CNN quoting her post and POLITICO.eu quoting her vow to “will not change course.”

Russia’s ambassador rejected the framing of the dispute as an official statement, while Italian leaders and parties condemned the personal nature of the insults.

“Italy summons Russian ambassador over insults at Meloni ROME — Italy has summoned the Russian ambassador in Rome after pro-Kremlin television host delivered a stream of insults against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Tuesday”

Saudi Gazette

POLITICO.eu reports that Russian Ambassador Paramonov dismissed Tajani’s protests in a post on Facebook, saying Rome had “missed the mark” by summoning him over comments made by a television host and insisting the remarks did not reflect the position of the Russian government.

In the same POLITICO.eu account, Paramonov added, “No reasonable person would treat purely personal remarks as an official statement,” and the report says Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.

The Saudi Gazette provides a parallel account of the insults, quoting Solovyov’s Italian and Russian language accusations, including that Meloni was a “disgrace to the human race” and a “wild beast” and a “certified idiot.”

It also quotes Solovyov’s claim that “Betrayal is her middle name: she also betrayed (US President Donald) Trump, to whom she had previously sworn allegiance.”

Italian political figures responded across party lines: the Saudi Gazette says Giuseppe Conte slammed the insults as “unspeakable,” while Elly Schlein said the remarks were “unacceptable sexist accusations” and that Italy “do[es] not accept this.”

The dispute has also been portrayed as reshaping Italian domestic politics around Meloni, with CNN describing how the insults and the diplomatic fracas have made it harder for her opponents to attack her.

CNN says Trump’s criticism and Solovyov’s harsh comments appear to have “uniting at least some of her critics behind her,” and it quotes Giovanni Orsina, director of the department of Political Science at Luiss University in Rome, saying, “Her opposition has always said she was subservient to Trump. Now it has been harder for her opponents to attack her.”

CNN

CNN adds that Orsina said the Russian attack was “really very harsh and somehow this has obliged the opposition and even the pPresident of the Republic to defend her.”

The CNN account also ties the episode to Meloni’s earlier political positioning, including that she had been criticized as “Trump’s best friend in Europe,” and it recounts that in January 2025 the so-called “Trump whisperer” flew to Mar a Lago before Trump’s inauguration, where he hailed her as a “fantastic woman.”

CNN further says that after threats of tariffs on European-made goods last summer and the “more recent US, and Israel war in Iran,” Meloni avoided comment beyond joining Europe in “expressing concern” over the war.

In the same CNN report, CNN says even Elly Schlein made a rare conciliatory comment in parliament, saying, “Italy repudiates war,” and “No foreign head of state can allow himself to attack, threaten, or disrespect our country and our government.”

While all three outlets describe the same core sequence—Trump’s criticism, Solovyov’s insults, and Italy’s diplomatic protest—their emphasis differs in ways that shape how readers understand the incident.

“Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani denounced the “extremely serious and offensive statements” broadcast on Russian state television”

POLITICO.eu

CNN frames the episode as a political unifier, saying the “dual insults” from the US president and a Russian commentator “appear to be uniting at least some of her critics behind her,” and it links that to domestic polling dynamics after Meloni’s defeat in a national referendum over judicial reform.

POLITICO.eu

POLITICO.eu, by contrast, focuses on the diplomatic and media mechanics of the fracas, specifying that the segment aired on April 16 and highlighting Solovyov’s profanity-laced tirade and the ambassador’s Facebook pushback that Rome “missed the mark.”

The Saudi Gazette emphasizes the formal protest and the content of the insults, quoting Tajani’s statement about summoning Alexey Paramonov and listing Solovyov’s language, including “disgrace to the human race,” “wild beast,” and “certified idiot.”

Each outlet also places the incident in a different broader political frame: CNN ties it to Meloni’s relationship with Trump and her steps regarding Israel, while POLITICO.eu ties it to Italy’s backing of Ukraine and to internal tensions involving the League, ENI, and the opposition 5Star Movement floating “resuming Russian gas purchases.”

POLITICO.eu also adds an EU-linked development about the Venice Biennale, while the Saudi Gazette notes tense Rome-Moscow relations tied to Meloni’s support for Ukraine and her defense of Pope Leo XIV against Trump’s attacks.