Italy’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russian ambassador Alexey Paramonov after TV host Vladimir Solovyov attacked Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. During the April 16 broadcast of his program “Full Contact,” he insulted the Italian leader in Italian and accused her of fascism and of betraying both voters and U.S. President Donald Trump.
On April 21, Meloni responded on X without naming Solovyov directly, saying that a “regime propagandist” could not lecture Italy about consistency or freedom. She wrote that her government would not be pushed off course and that Italy’s national interest remained its only compass.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani declared full solidarity with the prime minister and ordered the Russian ambassador to be called in to receive a formal protest. Paramonov replied that the Russian authorities had never attacked Meloni and described the uproar as the work of anti-Russian forces inside Italy’s “deep state” linked to Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, commenting on Solovyov’s remarks, said the real international scandal was not his rhetoric but Italy’s support for what she called a “neo-Nazi regime.” She added that everyone has their own style, but, in her words, facts should not be ignored.
According to La Repubblica, Solovyov’s statements were condemned by all major Italian political forces. President Sergio Mattarella called them vulgar, while leaders from both the governing camp and the opposition expressed solidarity with Meloni and said insults against the country’s institutions were unacceptable.
This was not the first such scandal involving the presenter. Earlier, he lashed out at blogger Victoria Bonya after her appeal to Vladimir Putin listing problems in Russia. Bonya later said she was preparing a collective lawsuit against Solovyov and State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov over misogynistic remarks.