European leaders are tired of the war in Ukraine and want to broker a deal with the Kremlin to end it, Giorgia Meloni told pranksters posing as African diplomats.
The Italian prime minister believed she was speaking to a senior African Union official however she was on a call with two prolific Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus.
During the phone call she said European leaders wanted a “way out” of the 20-month war in Ukraine.
“I see that many are tired. To tell the truth, perhaps we are close to the moment when everyone will understand that we need a way out,” she said. “The problem is to find a way out that would be acceptable to both sides, not while violating international law.”
Ukraine war is old news already, as all things, sadly.
I don’t think anyone is really surprised here.
>European leaders are tired of the war in Ukraine and want to broker a deal with the Kremlin to end it, Giorgia Meloni told pranksters posing as African diplomats.
This is interesting if true, but I don’t believe it.
I’m sure they’re tired, but I don’t think they’ll stop supporting Ukraine. Otherwise, this war would have been futile, as peace on Russian terms could have happened at the start.
The right wing Italian government is tired of the Ukraine war because they don’t see anything to gain and everything to lose. I bet they have already plans on how soon after the end of the war to go back negotiating gas imports with Russia, since Italy’s energy policy before the war was completely frozen and since then only temporary solutions have been put in place, if that.
Italy has only provided marginal military support to Ukraine, average humanitarian support and honestly no political support at all: the more space is given to Zelensky here the more some normal people and some politicians turn their back on him. The most that the Italian government is aiming to gain from Ukraine after the end of the war is probably to negotiate huge contracts for the reconstruction process for the large Italian engineering firms; I don’t think they believe or care about Ukraine’s future positioning in Europe.
Meloni..
Bush’s call is very funny
Where’s the catch? If this is everything „inflammatory” they could fish out of her, someone is falling out of the window in Moscow.
No shit, we’ve got our own problems to worry about.
i know NO ONE wants to hear this, but we need to stop pussy footing around.
the conflict is inevitable. we have to go hot and eliminate Russia from Ukrainian lands.
the world is already at war. we’re all just fooling ourselves.
By the way, no one here ask themselves how a couple of commedians manage to talk with a prime minister. I can see this to be some sort of operation by the Russians, literally memewarfare.
If Trump gets reelected next year, then the Ukraine war will be a lost cause.
i mean i can see why european leader are tired of the war
No shit, I the we are all tired of the Ukraine war, I am already tired of the Israel Gaza war, I am tired of war in general, so why would politicians feel differently.
Feeling tired of war does not mean we won’t help out or try to resolve the issue, hopefully
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I can’t say I’m surprised, knowing how soft Europe actually is. Poland should be smart and start their own nuclear program.
As a Ukrainian, im tired of it too. But I don’t have the option of not caring 🤷🏼♂️
Trash journalists putting words in Meloni’s mouth. She did good and was measured in her response.
What’s so controversial about that opinion, regardless of this being true or not?
I’m also tired of it. Even if my sympathies are firmly and eternally against Russia.
What’s so controversial here?
I swear people are nitpicking whatever Meloni says, looking for something to latch onto and attack her.
As embarassing of an intelligence fail as it is, she didn’t really say anything wrong per se. People are tired of war but they want a solution that respects international right.
As someone else said, if this is the best they got, someone’s falling out of a window.
**I have translated this from an Italian transcript (original was in English so this is a translation of a translation, sorry but I could not find the English transcript); phone call between Russian comedian (posing as president of the African Union) and Italian pime minister Giorgia Meloni. Happened the 18th of September.**
Russian Comedian: “What a pleasure to hear from you, thank you for your time.”
Meloni: “How are you?”
Russian Comedian: “I’m fine, I’ve heard some very bad news.”
Meloni: “Yes, the situation is a bit difficult, very difficult for us to handle. Since the beginning of the year, in just a few months, we’ve had over 120,000 people arrive, mainly from Tunisia. So the situation is very difficult from every perspective – humanitarian, logistical, and security. What I see is that these flows are at risk of increasing due to the situation in Africa, especially in the Sahel, and also due to the issue of grain, among other problems that you know better than I do. We are also working within the European Union on a memorandum with Tunisia to help, not only to manage migration. My idea is that we need to do many other things.”
Russian Comedian: “I agree. I just met with Charles Michel, and we had a conversation about the situation. He said that the problem is that Italy can’t stop them, and he thinks it’s primarily Italy’s problem.”
Meloni: “For a long time, Europe thought it could solve the problem by limiting it to Italy. What they don’t understand is that it’s impossible. The scale of this phenomenon affects not only the European Union, but also the United Nations, in my opinion. But the problem is that others don’t care. They didn’t answer the phone when I called them. And they all agree that Italy must solve this problem on its own. I think that’s a very foolish way to think about these things.”
Russian Comedian: “I tried to talk to Macron, but he also refuses to understand my position.”
Meloni: “Do you think what’s happening in places like Niger is happening against France?”
Russian Comedian: “I say yes, especially now.”
Meloni: “I see that France is pushing for some kind of intervention, but I’m trying to understand how we can support a diplomatic effort. We need to be careful.”
Russian Comedian: “Because the French don’t understand what the further consequences would be. If there were a military aggression, it would lead to another migration crisis.”
Meloni: “But they have other priorities, which are not immigration in countries like Niger, as you know. Their perspective is not necessarily mine. They have uranium, the African franc… They have national priorities. We’re trying to tell them that we shouldn’t do things that create more problems than we already have.”
Russian Comedian: “But another problem is how to work on the new Black Sea initiative. What do you think about unblocking some Russian banks?”
Meloni: “I think we need to discuss it. We need to find a solution to a situation that is impossible for us to deal with. There must be a solution. I also discussed this at the G20 meeting on Africa. If we allow Russia to blackmail us, it could be even worse. But if we don’t find other solutions, it becomes an impossible problem. We need to find a way out somehow. Poland could be the right path, but they are having problems.”
Russian Comedian: “The problem is that we expected the war to end thanks to a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive, but now I see it’s not as successful as I expected. So many of our friends on the continent are waiting for any negotiations to stop this conflict between Ukraine and Russia.”
Meloni: “I understand. And also, immigration and the problems we have with inflation, the energy crisis, it’s difficult for all of us. One of my strategic plans that I’m trying to discuss with other European countries is an energy investment plan for Africa. I think it could be, absolutely not immediate when you start making an investment… In the first days of November, we will present our Mattei Plan here in Rome at a conference, which is mainly about investing in energy for Africa, producing it and exporting it if they can. Next year, we will also have the presidency of the G7, and I would like to focus our G7 presidency mainly on the theme of Africa. We’re heading towards a time when it’s already too late. We need to act.”
Russian Comedian: “Can I ask what you think about the plans of some British officials to send some migrants to Rwanda?”
Meloni: “Yes. I haven’t discussed it. I don’t know the details of this agreement. The problem we have is that these people who arrive illegally are impossible to integrate. They waste a lot of time while we process their requests, and then we lose track of many of them. Some end up in the hands of organized crime, some go to other countries and try to send them back…”
Russian Comedian: “Do you think the European Commission understands this?”
Meloni: “What?”
Russian Comedian: “Do you think the European Commission understands this…”
Meloni: “The European Commission says they understand, the problem is how long it takes for them to give us concrete answers. At the conclusion of the European Council, in the words of Ursula von der Leyen, they absolutely understand, but when you ask them to take the money and invest it to help us, to negotiate with these countries, well, that’s where it becomes more difficult. I have to tell the truth. This also concerns Tunisia. I organized this memorandum between Europe and Tunisia that President Saied signed with us in mid-July, but he hasn’t seen a single euro yet.”
Russian Comedian: “How long do you think the conflict between Ukraine and Russia will last? Have you had conversations with President Biden and others?”
Meloni: “I see a lot of fatigue, I have to tell the truth, from all sides. We’re close to the point where everyone realize that we need a way out. The problem is finding one that can be acceptable without undermining international law. I have some ideas on this, on how to manage the situation, but I’m waiting for the right moment to put these ideas on the table.”
Russian Comedian: “Ukraine is not achieving the success that we all expected…”
Meloni: “The Ukrainian counteroffensive may not be working as we expected. It’s progressing, but it hasn’t changed the course of the conflict. So, everyone understands that it could last for many years if we don’t try to find a solution. The problem is what situation is acceptable to both without opening up other conflicts. You know what I think about Libya. Maybe you don’t know. We could discuss it for hours, my friend, about what happened in Libya! Maybe today, some people understand that the post-situation hasn’t been so good, it hasn’t been better.”
Russian Comedian: “We need money, but we don’t ask for it from other institutions like the European Commission. I see that all EU money is going to Ukraine now.”
Meloni: “What I’m working on is getting some of it to Africa. This is my first commitment. As you may know, if you follow what I say to everyone, from the Americans to NATO, I say everywhere that we need to take care of Africa.”
Russian Comedian: “Also, I disagree with the nationalistic ideology in Ukraine, I mean Bandera; there are nationalists in Ukraine, which is what Russia hates the most.”
Meloni: “No, I don’t agree. They have the right to do so. I think the problem of nationalism is a problem that Putin has.”
Russian Comedian: “I’m talking about Stepan Bandera; he’s a person that Russia portrays as Hitler.”
Meloni: “I don’t know. I think they are doing what they should and what is their right to do. And we are trying to help them.”
Russian Comedian: “In any case, Prime Minister, thank you for this conversation.”
Meloni: “No, thank you! I hope we can have more opportunities. Thank you very much. Goodbye.”
If you’re tired of Ukraine war, why not ask Putin to pull out?
Are the leaders tired? Would they be tired if Russia wanted to start a war against them? Europe in global is tired. Tired economically, tired politically, tired of their own decisions that has put Europe in a descending path. Whoever is tired, don’t apply for the job. We need politicians to fix the global situation, not tired politicians.
She’s a genius obviously. Another populist moron.
Now isn’t the time to give up on Ukraine, because if Ukraine falls – more countries will be next. This is a long game and Europe should stick with Ukraine they have freed their land. We can’t empower Russian imperialism by allowing them to conquer land through invasion.
>“I see that many are tired. To tell the truth, perhaps we are close to the moment when everyone will understand that we need a way out,” she said. “The problem is to find a way out that would be acceptable to both sides, not while violating international law.”
This consitutes a ‘win’ for the kremlin? What did they think she would say? Everyone wants this pointless war to end ASAP and I imagine a lot of people are tired of it, not least the Ukrainians who are on the recieving end of Russia’s aggression.
Not a fan of Meloni, but she is correct. The Ukraine war has been very, very costly for European countries, the amount of military and monetary support that has been sent at the cost of suffering economic consequences for it and having to deal with cost of living crisis at home… of course everybody wants this pointless war to end.
Imagine fighting on the frontline and living in the woods under shelling for two years, with no prospect of the end in the near future. Nobody outside Ukraine has the right to feel tired.
Tell the Russians to leave or troops are being sent.
Meloni comes off as very professional and diplomatic here I think
Imagine how Zelenskyy and other Ukrainians on the front feel than….
Yes, in the sense that if I could make it so just by saying it I would have the Ukrainians victorious today.
But I can’t and caving to Russian exapnsionism won’t stop wars in eartern Europe it will jsut mena Putin attacks the next one.
Oh it’s those fuckers again. Our propaganda cannot shut up about Vovan and Lexus whenever another one of their “pranks” succeeds and they get a Western politician to say something
I mean yeah? Russia should just stop, its being anoying. It was fun first few weeks, but WW3 memes gets booring after a while.
Always a good idea to read beyond the headline
We’re all tired, she’s correct.
i’m deeply embarassed of my government… sorry Europe…
Sorry kiddo, your mom and I are tired of dealing with you and your cancer, can’t you just give it what it wants already ?
Is true, though
Italy and right wing idiots, name a more iconic duo
40 comments
***The Telegraph reports***
European leaders are tired of the war in Ukraine and want to broker a deal with the Kremlin to end it, Giorgia Meloni told pranksters posing as African diplomats.
The Italian prime minister believed she was speaking to a senior African Union official however she was on a call with two prolific Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus.
During the phone call she said European leaders wanted a “way out” of the 20-month war in Ukraine.
“I see that many are tired. To tell the truth, perhaps we are close to the moment when everyone will understand that we need a way out,” she said. “The problem is to find a way out that would be acceptable to both sides, not while violating international law.”
**Full story: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/11/01/giorgia-meloni-european-leaders-tired-ukraine-war-prank/**
Ukraine war is old news already, as all things, sadly.
I don’t think anyone is really surprised here.
>European leaders are tired of the war in Ukraine and want to broker a deal with the Kremlin to end it, Giorgia Meloni told pranksters posing as African diplomats.
This is interesting if true, but I don’t believe it.
I’m sure they’re tired, but I don’t think they’ll stop supporting Ukraine. Otherwise, this war would have been futile, as peace on Russian terms could have happened at the start.
The right wing Italian government is tired of the Ukraine war because they don’t see anything to gain and everything to lose. I bet they have already plans on how soon after the end of the war to go back negotiating gas imports with Russia, since Italy’s energy policy before the war was completely frozen and since then only temporary solutions have been put in place, if that.
Italy has only provided marginal military support to Ukraine, average humanitarian support and honestly no political support at all: the more space is given to Zelensky here the more some normal people and some politicians turn their back on him. The most that the Italian government is aiming to gain from Ukraine after the end of the war is probably to negotiate huge contracts for the reconstruction process for the large Italian engineering firms; I don’t think they believe or care about Ukraine’s future positioning in Europe.
Meloni..
Bush’s call is very funny
Where’s the catch? If this is everything „inflammatory” they could fish out of her, someone is falling out of the window in Moscow.
No shit, we’ve got our own problems to worry about.
i know NO ONE wants to hear this, but we need to stop pussy footing around.
the conflict is inevitable. we have to go hot and eliminate Russia from Ukrainian lands.
the world is already at war. we’re all just fooling ourselves.
By the way, no one here ask themselves how a couple of commedians manage to talk with a prime minister. I can see this to be some sort of operation by the Russians, literally memewarfare.
If Trump gets reelected next year, then the Ukraine war will be a lost cause.
i mean i can see why european leader are tired of the war
No shit, I the we are all tired of the Ukraine war, I am already tired of the Israel Gaza war, I am tired of war in general, so why would politicians feel differently.
Feeling tired of war does not mean we won’t help out or try to resolve the issue, hopefully
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I can’t say I’m surprised, knowing how soft Europe actually is. Poland should be smart and start their own nuclear program.
As a Ukrainian, im tired of it too. But I don’t have the option of not caring 🤷🏼♂️
Trash journalists putting words in Meloni’s mouth. She did good and was measured in her response.
What’s so controversial about that opinion, regardless of this being true or not?
I’m also tired of it. Even if my sympathies are firmly and eternally against Russia.
What’s so controversial here?
I swear people are nitpicking whatever Meloni says, looking for something to latch onto and attack her.
As embarassing of an intelligence fail as it is, she didn’t really say anything wrong per se. People are tired of war but they want a solution that respects international right.
As someone else said, if this is the best they got, someone’s falling out of a window.
**I have translated this from an Italian transcript (original was in English so this is a translation of a translation, sorry but I could not find the English transcript); phone call between Russian comedian (posing as president of the African Union) and Italian pime minister Giorgia Meloni. Happened the 18th of September.**
Russian Comedian: “What a pleasure to hear from you, thank you for your time.”
Meloni: “How are you?”
Russian Comedian: “I’m fine, I’ve heard some very bad news.”
Meloni: “Yes, the situation is a bit difficult, very difficult for us to handle. Since the beginning of the year, in just a few months, we’ve had over 120,000 people arrive, mainly from Tunisia. So the situation is very difficult from every perspective – humanitarian, logistical, and security. What I see is that these flows are at risk of increasing due to the situation in Africa, especially in the Sahel, and also due to the issue of grain, among other problems that you know better than I do. We are also working within the European Union on a memorandum with Tunisia to help, not only to manage migration. My idea is that we need to do many other things.”
Russian Comedian: “I agree. I just met with Charles Michel, and we had a conversation about the situation. He said that the problem is that Italy can’t stop them, and he thinks it’s primarily Italy’s problem.”
Meloni: “For a long time, Europe thought it could solve the problem by limiting it to Italy. What they don’t understand is that it’s impossible. The scale of this phenomenon affects not only the European Union, but also the United Nations, in my opinion. But the problem is that others don’t care. They didn’t answer the phone when I called them. And they all agree that Italy must solve this problem on its own. I think that’s a very foolish way to think about these things.”
Russian Comedian: “I tried to talk to Macron, but he also refuses to understand my position.”
Meloni: “Do you think what’s happening in places like Niger is happening against France?”
Russian Comedian: “I say yes, especially now.”
Meloni: “I see that France is pushing for some kind of intervention, but I’m trying to understand how we can support a diplomatic effort. We need to be careful.”
Russian Comedian: “Because the French don’t understand what the further consequences would be. If there were a military aggression, it would lead to another migration crisis.”
Meloni: “But they have other priorities, which are not immigration in countries like Niger, as you know. Their perspective is not necessarily mine. They have uranium, the African franc… They have national priorities. We’re trying to tell them that we shouldn’t do things that create more problems than we already have.”
Russian Comedian: “But another problem is how to work on the new Black Sea initiative. What do you think about unblocking some Russian banks?”
Meloni: “I think we need to discuss it. We need to find a solution to a situation that is impossible for us to deal with. There must be a solution. I also discussed this at the G20 meeting on Africa. If we allow Russia to blackmail us, it could be even worse. But if we don’t find other solutions, it becomes an impossible problem. We need to find a way out somehow. Poland could be the right path, but they are having problems.”
Russian Comedian: “The problem is that we expected the war to end thanks to a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive, but now I see it’s not as successful as I expected. So many of our friends on the continent are waiting for any negotiations to stop this conflict between Ukraine and Russia.”
Meloni: “I understand. And also, immigration and the problems we have with inflation, the energy crisis, it’s difficult for all of us. One of my strategic plans that I’m trying to discuss with other European countries is an energy investment plan for Africa. I think it could be, absolutely not immediate when you start making an investment… In the first days of November, we will present our Mattei Plan here in Rome at a conference, which is mainly about investing in energy for Africa, producing it and exporting it if they can. Next year, we will also have the presidency of the G7, and I would like to focus our G7 presidency mainly on the theme of Africa. We’re heading towards a time when it’s already too late. We need to act.”
Russian Comedian: “Can I ask what you think about the plans of some British officials to send some migrants to Rwanda?”
Meloni: “Yes. I haven’t discussed it. I don’t know the details of this agreement. The problem we have is that these people who arrive illegally are impossible to integrate. They waste a lot of time while we process their requests, and then we lose track of many of them. Some end up in the hands of organized crime, some go to other countries and try to send them back…”
Russian Comedian: “Do you think the European Commission understands this?”
Meloni: “What?”
Russian Comedian: “Do you think the European Commission understands this…”
Meloni: “The European Commission says they understand, the problem is how long it takes for them to give us concrete answers. At the conclusion of the European Council, in the words of Ursula von der Leyen, they absolutely understand, but when you ask them to take the money and invest it to help us, to negotiate with these countries, well, that’s where it becomes more difficult. I have to tell the truth. This also concerns Tunisia. I organized this memorandum between Europe and Tunisia that President Saied signed with us in mid-July, but he hasn’t seen a single euro yet.”
Russian Comedian: “How long do you think the conflict between Ukraine and Russia will last? Have you had conversations with President Biden and others?”
Meloni: “I see a lot of fatigue, I have to tell the truth, from all sides. We’re close to the point where everyone realize that we need a way out. The problem is finding one that can be acceptable without undermining international law. I have some ideas on this, on how to manage the situation, but I’m waiting for the right moment to put these ideas on the table.”
Russian Comedian: “Ukraine is not achieving the success that we all expected…”
Meloni: “The Ukrainian counteroffensive may not be working as we expected. It’s progressing, but it hasn’t changed the course of the conflict. So, everyone understands that it could last for many years if we don’t try to find a solution. The problem is what situation is acceptable to both without opening up other conflicts. You know what I think about Libya. Maybe you don’t know. We could discuss it for hours, my friend, about what happened in Libya! Maybe today, some people understand that the post-situation hasn’t been so good, it hasn’t been better.”
Russian Comedian: “We need money, but we don’t ask for it from other institutions like the European Commission. I see that all EU money is going to Ukraine now.”
Meloni: “What I’m working on is getting some of it to Africa. This is my first commitment. As you may know, if you follow what I say to everyone, from the Americans to NATO, I say everywhere that we need to take care of Africa.”
Russian Comedian: “Also, I disagree with the nationalistic ideology in Ukraine, I mean Bandera; there are nationalists in Ukraine, which is what Russia hates the most.”
Meloni: “No, I don’t agree. They have the right to do so. I think the problem of nationalism is a problem that Putin has.”
Russian Comedian: “I’m talking about Stepan Bandera; he’s a person that Russia portrays as Hitler.”
Meloni: “I don’t know. I think they are doing what they should and what is their right to do. And we are trying to help them.”
Russian Comedian: “In any case, Prime Minister, thank you for this conversation.”
Meloni: “No, thank you! I hope we can have more opportunities. Thank you very much. Goodbye.”
If you’re tired of Ukraine war, why not ask Putin to pull out?
Are the leaders tired? Would they be tired if Russia wanted to start a war against them? Europe in global is tired. Tired economically, tired politically, tired of their own decisions that has put Europe in a descending path. Whoever is tired, don’t apply for the job. We need politicians to fix the global situation, not tired politicians.
She’s a genius obviously. Another populist moron.
Now isn’t the time to give up on Ukraine, because if Ukraine falls – more countries will be next. This is a long game and Europe should stick with Ukraine they have freed their land. We can’t empower Russian imperialism by allowing them to conquer land through invasion.
>“I see that many are tired. To tell the truth, perhaps we are close to the moment when everyone will understand that we need a way out,” she said. “The problem is to find a way out that would be acceptable to both sides, not while violating international law.”
This consitutes a ‘win’ for the kremlin? What did they think she would say? Everyone wants this pointless war to end ASAP and I imagine a lot of people are tired of it, not least the Ukrainians who are on the recieving end of Russia’s aggression.
Not a fan of Meloni, but she is correct. The Ukraine war has been very, very costly for European countries, the amount of military and monetary support that has been sent at the cost of suffering economic consequences for it and having to deal with cost of living crisis at home… of course everybody wants this pointless war to end.
Imagine fighting on the frontline and living in the woods under shelling for two years, with no prospect of the end in the near future. Nobody outside Ukraine has the right to feel tired.
Tell the Russians to leave or troops are being sent.
Meloni comes off as very professional and diplomatic here I think
Imagine how Zelenskyy and other Ukrainians on the front feel than….
Yes, in the sense that if I could make it so just by saying it I would have the Ukrainians victorious today.
But I can’t and caving to Russian exapnsionism won’t stop wars in eartern Europe it will jsut mena Putin attacks the next one.
Oh it’s those fuckers again. Our propaganda cannot shut up about Vovan and Lexus whenever another one of their “pranks” succeeds and they get a Western politician to say something
I mean yeah? Russia should just stop, its being anoying. It was fun first few weeks, but WW3 memes gets booring after a while.
Always a good idea to read beyond the headline
We’re all tired, she’s correct.
i’m deeply embarassed of my government… sorry Europe…
Sorry kiddo, your mom and I are tired of dealing with you and your cancer, can’t you just give it what it wants already ?
Is true, though
Italy and right wing idiots, name a more iconic duo