Italy’s prime minister did not state that Russia would be compelled to surrender if it did not agree to the terms of a Ukraine peace summit in mid-June, despite claims circulating on social media. During the June 15-16 summit, Giorgia Meloni spoke in English, addressing the possibility of Ukraine surrendering if other countries did not provide support following Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country. However, a video of Meloni’s speech, dubbed with Ukrainian audio to imply a direct translation, was shared on social media, suggesting otherwise.
“To protect Ukraine means to unite all efforts of the international community to protect Ukraine,” said the Ukrainian audio. “And if Russia does not agree to this, we will force them to surrender. And we need to establish the minimum conditions for this discussion.”
The Facebook post also quoted the Ukrainian audio but translated to English: “If Russia doesn’t agree to the terms of the peace summit, we will force them to surrender.”
Fact
However, according to a video and transcription of her speech published by the Italian government, Meloni did not make that statement. It reveals that she was discussing the potential for Ukraine to surrender, not Russia.
“Defending Ukraine means defending that system of rules that holds the international community together and protects every nation,” Meloni said. “If Ukraine had not been able to count on our support and therefore would have been forced to surrender, today we would not be here to discuss the minimum conditions for a negotiation. We would be just discussing the invasion of a sovereign state and we can all imagine with what consequences.”
Conclusion
Misleading.The original audio of Meloni’s speech indicates that she was discussing the scenario where Ukraine might surrender if it had not received support from the West after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
