Italy’s Meloni hopes to attend Trump’s inauguration as she downplays his Greenland, Panama comments
The Hindu
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni doubts Trump's military intentions, sees his comments as a warning to global players, not territorial ambitions.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday (January 9, 2025) that she didn't believe President-elect Donald Trump actually intends to use military force to seize control of Greenland or the Panama Canal, saying she read his comments more as a warning to China and other global players to keep their hands off such strategically important interests.
“I think we can exclude that the United States in the coming years will try to use force to annex territory that interests it,” said Ms. Meloni, who travelled last weekend to visit Mr. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate and intends to attend his inauguration.
Rather, she said, Mr. Trump's comments were “a message to some other big global players more than any hostile claim over these countries.”
She identified increased “Chinese protagonism” in the commercially important Panama Canal and resource-rich Greenland as being behind Trump's warning, and said she interpreted his words as part of a “long-distance debate between great powers.” Meloni was speaking at an annual news conference during which she was peppered with questions about her relations with Trump and Elon Musk. She confirmed she hoped to attend Trump's inauguration Jan. 20, but was checking her agenda before confirming her presence.
Also Read | Trump renews his offer of making Canada 51st state of U.S. after Trudeau resigns
“If I can I will gladly participate,” she said.
Mr. Trump on Tuesday (January 7, 2025) said he wouldn't rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland which he declared to be vital to American national security.
Biden administration halts 9/11 mastermind's guilty plea, sparking legal battle over plea agreement and death penalty.
South Korea's security chief emphasizes no bloodshed in potential arrest of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado arrested after protests against Maduro's disputed election win.
New LA-area fire prompts more evacuations as officials say thousands of homes, buildings have burned
Los Angeles wildfires devastate homes, landmarks, and lives, with evacuations, looting, and celebrity losses in the mix.
Supreme Court denies Trump's request to delay sentencing in hush money case, citing lack of evidence.
Myanmar junta air strike kills 40 in Rakhine village, amid ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis.
Elon Musk aims to cut $2 trillion from federal spending with task force DOGE, facing challenges.
Firefighters battle major fires in Los Angeles, killing five, destroying homes, and prompting evacuations; winds calm slightly.
The Lhasa terrane, in which the quake’s mainshock emerged, includes sites involved in China’s construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric-power dam
Over 46,000 Palestinians killed in Israel-Hamas war, with civilians making up majority of fatalities, ceasefire negotiations ongoing.
Joe Biden reflects on his presidency, regrets, and potential preemptive pardons in an exclusive interview with USA Today.