US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte are pressuring Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to include Italy in the PURL arms supply program for Ukraine.

Axar.az informs that the Italian newspaper "La Stampa" reported this.

It is noted that the Italian leadership initially refused to participate in the program, citing economic reasons and public opinion.

"Meloni was pressured, and Trump himself asked the prime minister to make an effort. However, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte took a more persistent position and admitted that only this tool can stimulate arms supplies to Kiev and unite the Atlantic Alliance," it was reported.

According to the newspaper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also discussed this with Meloni and appealed to him in the hope of convincing him to include Italy in the PURL program.