Meloni advocates bridges with Trump at the beginning of the London Defense Summit

The Italian president stressed the importance of coordination between Western allies. “At such a crucial moment … it is very important to talk to each other and coordinate,” Meloni said from Downing Street. The Italian leader, who has maintained a firm position of support for Ukraine, said that the objective of European countries is to achieve “just and lasting peace” in the conflict with Russia.

However, he warned about the risk of a fracture in the western position and emphasized that “the United Kingdom and Italy can play an important role as a bridge” between different positions within the Western Alliance, in reference to the good relationship that its country also has with the administration of Donald Trump.

The summit occurs in a context of growing pressure for Europe to reinforce its commitment to Ukraineespecially before the distancing signs by the United States. Starmer, who described the meeting with Meloni as “fantastic,” stressed the importance of a coordinated approach between European countries. “I look forward to the opportunity to talk about the key issues we face today, I think we address them with a very similar mentality,” said British Prime Minister.

Before the Summit, the British Prime Minister has assured the BBC that he works together with France and “possibly one or two other countries” in a plan to stop fighting and that would be subsequently presented to the US.

Meanwhile, other European leaders expressed, before the summit, their position regarding the strengthening of defense in the continent. The Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fialainsisted on the need to increase military aid to Ukraine and proposed to use frozen Russian assets to finance it. “The goal for all of us is a fair peace, a peace that lasts,” he said. “We must further support Ukraine in military terms and make sure that in the future it is strong enough to guarantee long -term peace.”

For its part, the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tuskhe urged Europe to assume their own security without depending on the United States, arguing that “Europe is a giant who has aroused.” In a message before leaving for the British capital, Tusk said it was absurd that “500 million Europeans ask 300 million Americans to defend them 140 million Russians.” He emphasized that Europe has sufficient military capacity to guarantee its safety, but lacking awareness about this potential. “The deficit is inability to understand that Europe has the potential to be a global power,” he said.

The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeaualso arrived in London to participate in the summit, and highlighted the importance of continuous support to Ukraine. “I am in London this morning, working with President Zelenski, Prime Minister Starmer and European leaders to achieve just and lasting peace in Ukraine, a peace that guarantees the sovereignty and security of the country,” he said in a message on the social network X.

On the other hand, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyendefended the need to reinforce European security while supporting Ukraine. «The way to peace is strength. The weakness generates more war, ”he published on social networks before heading to British territory. “We will support Ukraine while we undertake an increase in European defense.”

With the presence of key figures such as Justin Trudeau, Ursula von der Leyen and Pedro Sánchez, the summit is emerging as a turning point in the security strategy of the continent. Starmer, with its commitment to raise the expenditure in defense of the United Kingdom to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, seeks to lead a stronger European effort to guarantee stability in the region.