By Angelo Amante
ROME, July 7 (Reuters) - Italy will not respond further to U.S. President Donald Trump's attacks on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, ministers said, pledging to protect bilateral ties that have come under strain in recent weeks after the two leaders traded accusations.
Meloni was once seen as a close ally of Trump, but the relationship faltered last month when he told Italian TV channel La7 that she had "begged" him to take a photo with her at a G7 summit in France. She denied the claim and accused him of fabricating the story.
With the two leaders due to attend the NATO summit in Ankara on Tuesday and Wednesday, Trump appeared to reignite the dispute when he posted on Truth Social a picture of Meloni looking up at him with the caption "RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED".
The latest provocation raised questions about how Meloni would react, potentially raising tensions among allies at the closely watched NATO gathering.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Rome had no plans to take the bait and wanted to maintain good relations with the U.S. regardless of who was president.
"Trump speaks for himself. We have a U.S. president who loves to provoke, especially on social media. We have decided to stop responding to these remarks," Tajani told La Stampa newspaper.
SAY HELLO WITH A SMILE
Other senior government figures, including Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, struck a similar tone when asked about a possible response, while Meloni's office declined to comment on how she would behave when meeting Trump in Ankara.
However, a source close to her, who declined to be named, ruled out the possibility that the Italian leader would snub Trump, saying she knew how to handle such situations and would instead greet him "with a smile".
Meloni was once a vocal supporter of Trump and was the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025, hoping to forge close ties with him on the back of their shared right-wing political outlook.
However, she criticised him this year for lashing out at Pope Leo over his condemnation of the Iran conflict. That, in turn, prompted a blunt rebuke from the U.S. president, who accused her of lacking courage.
Following the public spat, Italian media speculated that the government could boycott a traditional U.S. Independence Day celebration. But in a sign of goodwill, several senior government figures attended the event at the ambassador's residence in Rome last week.
Trump's remarks drew strong condemnation in Italy, with some opposition parties also expressing solidarity with Meloni.
Italy's Il Foglio newspaper mocked Trump's jibe on its front page on Tuesday, publishing a picture of the U.S. president with Russia's Vladimir Putin under the same caption: "RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED".
(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Giuseppe FonteEditing by Keith Weir)
