VOA News | Friday, March 1, 2024 
Biden Meets Italy’s Meloni as Both Fight Domestic Headwinds on Ukraine

White House — U.S. President Joe Biden is hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House Friday, amid challenges in maintaining support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. The meeting, their second in-person encounter in seven months, will focus primarily on Italy’s G7 presidency where Meloni is set to lead on an agenda aligned with Biden’s: defending the international system and multilateralism. For both leaders, support for Ukraine has been the core of that effort. Despite initial concerns from Biden and Western allies when Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy Party came into power in October 2022, the prime minister has proved her country’s commitment to supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s war efforts. Last week Meloni visited Kyiv and chaired the first G7 leaders’ videoconference under the Italian presidency, from the Ukrainian capital. She has signed a deal to provide Kyiv with military and technical assistance through the end of the year. Meloni was also instrumental in persuading Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a fellow far-right leader, to drop his opposition to a $54 billion European Union package for Ukraine during an emergency summit in early February…Read more