ROME (AP) — Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday that Europe needs the United States, and vice versa, as America’s top diplomat wrapped up two days of fence-mending talks in Italy and the Vatican following weeks of tensions over the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran.
Tajani reaffirmed strong transatlantic ties and said he hoped “tensions have been calmed” with Rubio’s visit. He said the two discussed the Iran war and spillover into Lebanon, as well as the situation in Venezuela and Cuba. The U.S. secretary of state was also meeting Friday with Premier Giorgia Meloni.
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