Meloni presses EU envoy plan for Russia role, rules out big states

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for a single EU envoy to handle Russia contacts, suggesting a medium-sized power, not a large state, for the role.

​Italian Prime Minister ​Giorgia Meloni renewed ‌on Wednesday ​her call for a single European Union envoy ‌to handle contacts with Russia over Ukraine, while cautioning the role should not go ‌to anyone from the bloc's largest states.

Meloni ‌told reporters at the end of a G7 summit that a proliferation of diplomatic groups ⁠within ​Europe ⁠risked creating confusion, making it important to find a ⁠single voice to speak for the bloc when ​dealing with Russia.

"It would be very ⁠difficult to put forward someone from one of ⁠the ​largest European countries," she told reporters, adding: "In my view, proposing one ⁠of those candidates would make an agreement harder ⁠to ⁠reach, so I would look instead to the EU's medium-sized powers."