Italy's top diplomat cancels US trip as Meloni slams Trump's claim she 'begged' for a photo with him

ROME (AP) — The Italian government closed ranks on Friday to slam U.S. President Donald Trump over his claim that Premier Giorgia Meloni had “begged” for a photo with him during the recent G7 summit, a pushback that suggested the longtime U.S. ally had had enough of Trump’s boasting.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani abruptly cancelled a planned trip to the United States this weekend, calling Trump’s claims “serious and offensive” toward Meloni and all of Italy.

Meloni for her part posted a video calling Trump’s claims “completely fabricated." She concluded: “Italy and I do not beg.”

Trump had made the comments in an interview broadcast Friday morning on the La7 network. The La7 correspondent had asked Trump about Ukraine, but Trump raised Meloni and the conversation turned to their meeting, caught on video, during the just-concluded G7 meeting in Evian-les-Bains, France. Meloni and Trump were filmed speaking at several points, including alone on a small sofa.

According to La7, Trump said Meloni had “begged” him for a photo-op. Trump said he wasn’t obliged to do it but that he felt sorry for her and agreed, La7 said. The broadcaster has a dubbed version of the conversation online, not the original English audio.

In her video, Meloni said she was responding to Trump’s claims because “certain things deserve an immediate response."

“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned,” she said. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies. After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened.”

It was an apparent reference to an interview Trump gave to Italian daily Corriere della Sera in April in which he criticized Meloni's refusal to back the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. Meloni didn't respond publicly at the time.

By Friday, it appeared she had had enough of his boasts and broadsides.

“I can only say that it’s a shame he doesn’t show the same resolve toward the enemies of the West, toward the enemies of the United States — toward leaders with whom he, on the other hand, is much more accommodating," Meloni said Friday. "But there’s one thing he must remember: Italy and I do not beg.”

Meloni had initially sought to build on longstanding strong U.S.-Italian ties when Trump began his second mandate, and had positioned herself as a “bridge” between Washington and the European Union. She was the lone EU head of state to attend his inauguration.

But relations have frayed over the U.S. war in Iran, which Meloni has said was illegal, and Trump’s position on Ukraine, which Italy strongly supports. Trump's tariffs and strong U.S. support of Israel over its war in Gaza have been other points of contention.

By Friday afternoon, solidarity with Meloni had poured in from across the government and political spectrum, and included a call from President Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s widely respected head of state.

“Whoever attacks @GiorgiaMeloni attacks all of us,” posted Transport Minister Matteo Salvini.

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said he didn't believe Meloni would ever beg someone for a photo, “not even under threat.”

“I can, however, imagine how much it cost her to set aside what Trump had said weeks ago, to serve the interests of Italy, of Europe, and of the West,” Crosetto posted on X. “Jokes of this kind do no good to anyone: neither to the USA, nor to Italy, nor to the alliance.”

Tajani had been due to travel to the U.S. as early as Sunday to take part in an Italy-U.S. business forum in Miami during which he was to have meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a U.S. State Department announcement of the meeting.

From left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. President Donald Trump, Kenya's President William Ruto, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gather for a group photo at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday June 16, 2026. (Isabel Infantes/Pool Photo via AP)

From right, U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after a group photo of G7 leaders and invited nations during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, speaks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, second left, after a group photo of G7 leaders and invited nations during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks on ahead of a working session at the G7 summit, in Evian-les-Bains, France, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)

DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — Authorities in Indonesia 's tourist island of Bali foiled an attempt last week to illegally trade 21 protected green sea turtles, police said on Friday.

Bali police seized the live animals during a raid on the island's Pegametan coast on June 10, after local residents reported suspected illegal turtle trading activity in the area, according to Nanang Pri Hasmojo, head of law enforcement at the force.

Police arrested a 67-year-old man identified only by his initials as KS, who is suspected of storing the protected animals before they were distributed for sale.

During initial questioning, police say the suspect told investigators the turtles had been sent by an associate from waters near Madura, an island in East Java province. He allegedly received the animals on the beach, where they were to be collected by another man for resale.

“We are continuing to investigate the case and pursuing other suspects involved in the network,” Hasmojo said. He added that the suspect has been charged under Indonesia's wildlife protection laws, and faces up to 15 years in prison and significant fines if found guilty.

Turtle species in Indonesia have been legally protected under conservation and fisheries laws since 1990. A 2018 Environment Ministry regulation further clarified protections for the six species of sea turtles found in the country’s waters. Additional government regulations also prohibit their trade.

Poaching of turtle eggs by local communities and organized criminal networks is a key driver of a global crisis that has pushed six of the world’s seven sea turtle species into threatened categories, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

A 2022 study by researchers at Arizona State University, published in Global Change Biology, estimated that more than 1.1 million sea turtles were killed between 1990 and 2020, largely to meet demand for meat, alleged aphrodisiacs and for use in traditional and spiritual practices.

According to the study, the green turtle, scientifically known as “Chelonia Mydas,” accounted for 56% of sea turtle killings in the 30-year period to 2020.

Bali was once a major hub for green turtle trafficking, driven in part by the historical use of turtle meat in offerings in Balinese Hinduism, the predominant religion on the island of about 4.5 million people.

In this photo released by Bali Regional Police, a plain-clothed police officer inspects live green sea turtles seized from a trafficker, in Denpasar, Bali Island, Indonesia, Friday, June 19, 2026. (Bali Regional Police via AP)