Italy’s Meloni scores diplomatic win as ‘bridge builder’ by bringing US and EU to the same table

ROME (AP) - Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni hosted a key trilateral meeting in Rome on Sunday, bringing U.S. Vice President JD Vance and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to the same table, hoping to usher in what she said could be a "new beginning."

It was a diplomatic score for Meloni, who has been touted as a potential bridge-builder with the Trump administration, but so far had been unable to provide decisive breakthroughs amid increasingly strained relations with her main European partners.

"I am very proud to host two of the leaders of the EU and the U.S. to start a dialogue," Meloni told the press ahead of the trilateral meeting, while sitting at a round table with her counterparts. The Italian premier recalled that she had proposed such an initiative a month earlier in the U.S. capital when she met President Donald Trump at the White House.

"I hope that today can be a first meeting and a new beginning," Meloni said, noting that "for trade matters" the competence belonged to the EU Commission, but Rome's role was linked to "the need and the desire to promote dialogue."

Vance stressed that Meloni had become "a good friend," acknowledging her will to act as "a bridge builder between Europe and the United States," a role that both him and Trump supported.

Vance also admitted that the U.S. and the EU kept "some disagreements, as friends sometimes have, for example on tariffs, but we also have many things on which we agree."

Von der Leyen responded she hoped that, on the trade issues, the EU and the U.S. could reach "an agreement that is good for both sides,” stressing that the two partners have the largest trade exchange in the world.

Addressing the Ukrainian conflict, the EU leader noted that "what unites us on Ukraine is the pursuit of a just and lasting peace," thanking the U.S. for its strong commitment in trying to stop the war.

Von der Leyen urged parties to "push things forward," adding she believed "the next week will be crucial" for Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

The meeting was a sigh of relief for Meloni, who had recently struggled to play a central role in Europe’s diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Earlier this week, she had openly distanced herself from the initiative led by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which she claimed was focused on the possible deployment of European troops to Ukraine.

Even though Meloni initially joined a video call with the so-called Coalition of the willing - including UK, France, Germany and Poland - she was then excluded from a coordination meeting between the European quartet and Trump's administration.

Tensions spiked on Friday when French President Emmanuel Macron accused Meloni of spreading "false information" to justify her absence from the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a joint call with Trump.

Political analyst and LUISS University professor Lorenzo Castellani noted that Meloni's priority, reaffirmed by Sunday’s trilateral's initiative, was to maintain a close alignment with her U.S. ally.

"Her strategy scored a win on Sunday, as she continues to navigate a delicate balancing act between the EU and the U.S.” Castellani said. "She sees Washington as a key actor in any future resolution of the Ukrainian conflict and her aim is to push for a broader diplomatic effort that includes the U.S. and the main European allies."

In this scenario, analysts believe that Meloni could successfully position herself as a mediator, leveraging Italy's role to help reaching a compromise between Europe and the U.S., also on the tariffs side.

Rome was at the core of international diplomacy on Sunday as Zelenskyy met with top U.S. officials and European leaders, ahead of a high-stakes phone call Monday between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy spoke with Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the U.S. ambassador's residence, after attending the inaugural Mass for Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter's Square, which attracted leaders from across the world.