Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has accused Donald Trump of fabricating a story about her after the US president claimed she had “begged” him for a photo during this week’s G7 summit in France.

According to a dubbed Italian-language version of a phone interview released by broadcaster La7 on Friday, Trump suggested that Meloni was desperate to pose with him during the gathering in Evian and that he only agreed “out of pity.”

The remarks triggered a sharp response from Meloni, who dismissed Trump’s account as “completely fabricated.”

“I am frankly astonished. I don’t understand why the president of the United States behaves this way with his allies,” Meloni said in a video statement posted on X on Friday. “I and Italy never beg.”

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also took to X to announce that he was canceling a planned trip to the US scheduled for June 21-22.

“The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offend all of Italy,” the diplomat wrote.

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https://www.rt.com/news/641842-meloni-calls-out-trump-fabrication/