Italy summoned Russia’s ambassador to Rome on Tuesday to protest a Kremlin-aligned pundit’s profanity-laced tirade against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
In a post on X, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had called Russian envoy Aleksey Paramonov to formally denounce the “extremely serious and offensive statements” recently made by presenter Vladimir Solovyov on Russian state television.
During the one-minute segment that aired on April 16 this month, Solovyov tore into Meloni, calling her a “certified idiot” and “fascist scum.” After accusing her of betraying both her voters and U.S. President Donald Trump — who last week turned on Meloni after she criticized his attack on Pope Leo XIV — the presenter additionally referred to her as “PuttaMeloni,” or “Meloni the whore.”
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. “No reasonable person would treat purely personal remarks as an official statement,” he added.
Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
Rome has firmly backed Ukraine efforts to end the Russian full-scale invasion of its territory, with Meloni standing out as one of Kyiv’s most reliable European allies. The prime minister has ramped up military cooperation and recently hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks on expanding defense support, including drone production.
That stance has exacerbated internal tensions in Italy, where far-right coalition partner the League, energy giant ENI and the opposition 5Star Movement have floated resuming Russian gas purchases amid mounting energy pressures.
Meloni on Tuesday dismissed Solovyov’s tirade as propaganda. “A diligent propagandist of the regime cannot give lessons in coherence or freedom,” she wrote on social media, vowing Italy “will not change course.”
Her response drew rare backing from across Italy’s political spectrum. Opposition leader Elly Schlein condemned the Russian presenter’s remarks as “unacceptable sexist accusations,” warning that attacks on Italy’s prime minister “offend the entire country.” It marks the second time this month the center-left politician has rallied behind Meloni, having similarly defended her during the clash with Trump.
The diplomatic incident flared at the same time the EU moved to target a symbol of Russia’s presence in Italy: the country’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Tuesday said that the bloc intends to cut funding to the Venice Biennale following a decision by the art exhibition to readmit Russian artists to its 2026 edition.
“While Russia bombs museums, destroys churches and seeks to erase Ukrainian culture, it should not be allowed to exhibit its own,” Kallas said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers. “Russia’s return to the Venice Biennale is morally wrong, and the EU intends to cut its funding.”
