The diplomatic advisor who facilitated the call of the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, with the Russian comedy duo who posed as an African leader and managed to extract statements about the war in Ukraine and migration, has resigned, announced today the head of the Government.
Meloni admitted that the call with the impostors was a matter “handled lightly” and revealed, during the press conference after the Council of Ministers, that his diplomatic advisor, Francesco Talò, had presented his resignation today.
“We have made at least 80 of these phone calls and I regret that with this setback all the work is called into question. I thank him and the diplomatic office. If I receive a phone call from the diplomatic advisor’s office I have to accept it as good “, the prime minister justified.
Even so, Meloni indicated that throughout the conversation “he had doubts”, especially in relation to the issue about Ukraine, and that after finishing the call he warned the diplomatic office to verify its origin.
The office of the diplomatic advisor to the Italian presidency issued a statement this weekend to regret having been “deceived by an imposter who had posed as the president of the African Union Commission.”
This subject, the note reads, was connected by telephone with Meloni on September 18, within the framework of the “intense effort” at that time to strengthen relations with African leaders before the United Nations General Assembly.
The “hoax” was perpetrated by the Russian comedian couple Vovan and Lexus, who in the past did the same with other European politicians, and published the conversation on their social networks.
During an important part of the conversation, the supposed “African leader”, the impostor, asks the prime minister about the war in Ukraine after the Russian invasion and whether she foresees an end.
“I see that many are tired. To tell the truth, we could be close to the moment when everyone will understand that we need a way out. The problem is finding a way out that is acceptable to both parties without destroying international law,” he says.
Likewise, Meloni said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is proceeding but “it may not be going as expected” and “without changing the fate of the conflict.” Meloni was also critical of the European management of the migration phenomenon.