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Posted on August 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleFrance summoned Italy's ambassador after Deputy PM Salvini criticized Macron's proposal for European soldiers in Ukraine, escalating diplomatic tensions.
PARIS (Reuters) -France summoned the Italian ambassador after Italy's deputy prime minister challenged the French president for suggesting that European soldiers be deployed in Ukraine in a post-war settlement, a French diplomatic source said on Saturday.
Asked earlier this week to comment on French President Emmanuel Macron's appeals to deploy European soldiers in Ukraine after any settlement with Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini used a Milanese dialect phrase loosely translatable as "get lost".
"You go there if you want. Put your helmet on, your jacket, your rifle and you go to Ukraine," he told reporters, referring to Macron.
Salvini, the populist leader of the right-wing League party and also Italy's transport minister in the nationalist, conservative government led by Giorgia Meloni, has repeatedly criticized Macron, especially over Ukraine.
The Italian ambassador was summoned on Friday, the diplomatic source said, marking the latest in a series of diplomatic clashes between Paris and Rome before and after Meloni took power in 2022.
"The ambassador was reminded that these remarks ran counter to the climate of trust and the historical relationship between our two countries, as well as to recent bilateral developments, which have highlighted strong convergences between the two countries, particularly with regard to unwavering support for Ukraine," the source said.
Macron, a vocal supporter of Ukraine over its war with Russia, has been working with other world leaders, notably British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to mobilise support for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
(Reporting by Makini Brice in Paris and Giulio Piovaccari in Milan; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
The Italian ambassador was summoned after Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini challenged President Macron's suggestion to deploy European soldiers in Ukraine, which France viewed as undermining trust between the two countries.
Salvini told reporters that if Macron wanted to deploy soldiers, he should go himself, emphasizing that he should wear the necessary gear and go to Ukraine.
The tensions have been ongoing, with a series of diplomatic clashes occurring before and after Giorgia Meloni took power in Italy in 2022.
Macron is a vocal supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia and has been working with other world leaders to mobilize support for Ukraine.
Matteo Salvini is the Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and the leader of the right-wing League party, known for his populist views and criticism of Macron.
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