New Italy government will be pro-NATO, pro-Europe, says Meloni

FILE PHOTO: Leader of Brothers of Italy Giorgia Meloni attends meeting with Brothers of Italy newly elected MPs in Rome, Italy, October 10, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) -Giorgia Meloni, who is expected to be Italy's next prime minister, threw down the gauntlet to her right-wing coalition partners on Wednesday, saying her new government would be pro-NATO and fully a part of Europe.

Her uncompromising statement came after her conservative ally Silvio Berlusconi reiterated his sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of triggering the war.