Italy’s premier acknowledges ‘fatigue’ over Ukraine war in call with Russian pranksters

MILAN (AP) —

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office has expressed “regret” that she fell prey to a prank call that induced her to acknowledge “fatigue” over the war in Ukraine.

Meloni, believing she was speaking with officials of the African Union, told a pair of Russian pranksters that “there is a lot of fatigue, I have to say the truth, from all the sides. We are near the moment in which everybody understands that we need a way out.”

“The problem is to find a way out which can be acceptable for both, without destroying the international law,” she said.

Audio of the call was released Wednesday and replayed by Italian media. The call by Russian comedians Vovan and Lexus was made in September. The office of Meloni’s diplomatic advisor said it “regrets having been misled by an imposter who posed as the president of the African Union commission.” The call occurred on Sept. 18, in the run-up to the U.N. General Assembly, where Meloni had meetings with African leaders.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, a Meloni ally, said Thursday that such episodes cannot be repeated. “There was certainly superficiality by whoever organized the phone call,” Tajani told state RAI radio.