Pro-NATO govt or no govt at all Meloni tells Berlusconi

(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 20 - Brothers of Italy (FdI) leader Giorgio Meloni has warned that the government she intends to lead will back the line of NATO and the Western alliance or it will not take office at all after her alliance partner, Forza Italia (FI) chief Silvio Berlusconi, made controversial comments on the war in Ukraine.
    On Tuesday an audio of him telling FI lawmakers that he had re-established ties with his old friend Vladimir Putin, with the exchange of gifts and "sweet" letters, caused a furore.
    The storm grew bigger on Wednesday when a fresh recording was released in which Berlusconi suggested Volodymyr Zelensky's actions had forced Moscow's invasion of its neighbour and casts doubts about the policy of giving aid to Kyiv.
    Late on Wednesday, Meloni, whose party was the driving force of the right-wing coalition's victory in last month's general election, issued her ultimatum, saying Italy must never be "the weak link of the West".
    In a statement, Berlusconi said his comments had been taken out of context, stressing that his position and that of FI do not differ with that of the government.
    FI Coordinator and former European Parliament President Antonio Tajani is set to attend a meeting of the European People's Party (EPP) on Thursday and he has said he will "confirm my and FI's full support of Kyiv".
    Tajani had been expected to be named foreign minister in Meloni's government but opposition parties have said he should not get this post given what the FI leader has said about the war in Ukraine. (ANSA).