Overview
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told ANI in New York that India can play a very important role in resolving ongoing global conflicts.
- Her remarks follow a recent Modi–Meloni call where both leaders backed an early, peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine and reviewed their Strategic Partnership.
- The United States recently added a 25% levy targeting India’s Russian oil–linked imports, taking total US tariffs on India to 50%, as President Trump accuses India and China of financing the Ukraine war.
- India has rejected the US measures as unfair and says its Russian oil purchases are driven by domestic energy needs.
- Meloni said Italy would recognize a Palestinian state only if Hamas is excluded from any government and all Israeli hostages are released, and she restated support for an India–EU free trade deal and IMEEC cooperation.