Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who is also the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, has issued a proposal to Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the US to hold their next summit in Italy.
“I would like the next summit to take place in Italy so that they [Putin and Trump] could speak with strength and courage about security, peace, work and economic growth,” Salvini wrote. “Good job Presidents!”
He said on July 5 he would like to organize Russian-US top-level talks in his country. He told reporters about it at a reception at villa Taverna, the official residence of the US ambassador in Rome where he was invited on the occasion of Independence Day.
Salvini said during the recent election race he would try and organize a meeting between Putin and Trump if he became prime minister. He is known for his pro-Russian position and for persistent calls for lifting the EU’s anti-Russian sanctions.
Monday’s summit in the Presidential Palace in Helsinki became the first full-scale meeting between Putin and Trump. Prior to it, the Presidents had two meetings in July and November 2017 at large international events.