Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni exchanged remarks during an informal European Union summit in Dublin, with Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano describing the exchange as containing a veiled reproach.

Axar.az reports, citing foreign media, that when Meloni remarked on how long it had been since they last met, the Ukrainian leader replied in English: “You didn't want to.”

The newspaper notes that the politicians' previous face-to-face meeting took place in July at the NATO summit in Ankara. Since then, Zelensky has not included Rome in his visits to European capitals.

Italian observers had previously noted a tendency on Meloni's part to avoid meetings, particularly amid disparaging remarks about the Ukrainian president by the US president. Meanwhile, media reports suggest that relations between the Italian prime minister and the US leader have also deteriorated.