US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte are putting pressure on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to encourage Rome to participate in the "Priority List of Ukrainian Requirements" (PURL) initiative to co-finance the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine, La Stampa newspaper reported, citing its sources.
According to him, it was Rutte who pushed the most for Rome's participation in arms purchases, hoping that it could boost arms purchases for Kiev and strengthen NATO. It is noted that Trump and Vladimir Zelensky had similar conversations directly with Maloney.
According to the source of the newspaper, the Prime Minister of Italy rejected the idea of possible participation in Rome PURL at this stage.
La Stampa points out that Meloni remains cautious about joining Italy's PURL because of possible resentment among the opposition and allies about allocating funds to buy arms for other countries instead of financing Italy's needs.
