Italy cancelled a planned visit by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to the United States after a public dispute between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and US President Donald Trump.
The confrontation began when Trump said Meloni had repeatedly asked him to take a photograph with her during the recent G7 summit in France. He added that he had agreed because he felt sorry for her.
Meloni rejected that account and described the remarks as completely invented. In a public response, she said she was astonished by the comments and insisted that neither she nor Italy begged.
Tajani then suspended a visit to the United States that had been scheduled for June 21 and 22. He said Trump's words toward Meloni were serious and offensive and that they had also offended Italy.
The cancellation transformed a personal exchange into a diplomatic incident between two governments that had maintained close political contact. It also introduced new tension into Italy's relationship with Washington at a moment of broader disagreement among Western allies.
The episode centered on political dignity as much as on the disputed photograph. Meloni framed her response as a defence of Italy's national standing, while Tajani's decision gave the protest an official diplomatic consequence.
No replacement date for the visit was announced. The next steps will depend on whether Rome and Washington seek to contain the dispute or allow it to affect their wider bilateral agenda.
