GENEVA, November 24. /TASS/. Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are on their way to Washington, Le Temps reported, citing sources close to the Finnish leader.
According to the newspaper, Stubb has become US President Donald Trump's new "best friend." The article recalled that Stubb and Meloni had already visited the US in August, accompanying Vladimir Zelensky to his meeting with Trump. Since then, "the exchange of views between the heads of state has become much friendlier," the newspaper noted.
On Sunday, Stubb announced that he and Meloni had spoken with the US president by telephone and discussed the American peace plan for Ukraine. Later, the Finnish president stated that important issues remained unresolved following Sunday's talks between the US and Ukraine in Geneva.
However, Italian media has not confirmed that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will visit Washington. During a conversation with reporters after the G20 summit in Johannesburg, Meloni said the US leader was willing to discuss European amendments to the Ukraine settlement plan. She also clarified that European leaders were not developing a "counterproposal," but rather, were using the US proposal as a foundation. Meloni also spoke about continuing contacts with European colleagues at the African Union-EU summit, which has kicked in Luanda, Angola. At the event itself, the Italian prime minister is scheduled to speak at a session on peace, security, and multilateral governance.
On November 23, meetings between the Ukrainian delegation and European partners and the American delegation ended in Geneva. Steps to end the conflict were discussed during these meetings. Earlier, Reuters reported, citing a US official, that representatives of Washington and Kiev intended to agree on the final details of the US draft plan for settling the conflict during the Geneva talks.