Meloni, in Trump's residence/ What is hidden from this unexpected meeting?

2025-01-05 14:31:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Giorgia Meloni arrived at Mar-a-Lago at 19.29 local time, after the plane landed in Champino, Palm Beach Airport. The visit was kept secret. In Florida, Meloni was awaited by the US president-elect, Donald Trump.

The first footage from the meeting showed Prime Minister Meloni, President Trump and at their side Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Trump's Secretary of State nominee, Florida Congressman Mike Waltz, National Security Advisor nominee Scott Bessent, Secretary nominee of the Treasury, Italian Ambassador to the US, Mariangela Zappia, and Texas entrepreneur, Tilman Fertitta, appointed US Ambassador to Italy.

Billionaire Elon Musk was not seen at this meeting, but he may have played a role in organizing the meeting.

During the meeting, Trump praised Meloni as "a fantastic woman", addressing those present in the reception hall. "He really conquered Europe", were the words of Trump. While Marco Rubio, welcoming the Italian prime minister, then defined her: An excellent ally, a strong leader.

Then, Trump, Meloni, Rubio, Watz and Bessent sat in the audience and until 10:20 p.m. attended the premiere of the documentary "Eastman Dilemma" about the 2020 election, where the judicial system is accused of targeting conservatives like Jon Eastman, Trump's lawyer who was disbarred from practicing in California state courts and found to be an accomplice in the federal lawsuit filed against Trump for his efforts to block the certification of Joe Biden's election.

Talks about the case of Cecilia Sala

Meloni's meeting with Trump would also be an opportunity to talk about the case of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist from Il Foglio and Chora Media who has been detained by Iran since December 19, as well as other matters of concern. for Italy and Europe, such as tariffs and the war in Ukraine.

The New York Times wrote this evening: Iran has repeatedly arrested foreigners and individuals with dual citizenship to exchange them for money and other people. A person informed about the meeting stated that Meloni has insisted on Sala's case. She was arrested on December 19, 2024 and is being held in solitary confinement in Evin prison, while no charges have yet been filed against her. The journalist's arrest is believed to be related to the US-ordered handcuffing in Milan on December 16 of Abedini Najafabani on charges that he had supported Tehran's Pasdaran in the purchase of technological equipment that is mounted on drones used by the Revolutionary Guard; in particular the navigation system of the drone model that on January 28, 2024 killed 3 American soldiers at a Jordanian post and injured 38 others. For this reason, the US also arrested Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, an Iranian engineer whose case is closely related to Abedin's, while asking Italy to extradite the Iranian, who faces life in prison.

The meeting between Meloni and Trump takes place five days before the visit of the outgoing president Joe Biden, the current US president, to Rome and two weeks before the inauguration of Trump in the White House.

After the dinner and meeting with Trump, Giorgia Meloni left the United States to return to Rome. According to the Flightradar24 website, the Italian Prime Minister's plane took off shortly after 11:00 p.m. local time (5 a.m. today in Italy) from Palm Beach Airport./Corriere