New Italy government will be pro-NATO, pro-Europe, says Meloni

Giorgia Meloni, who is expected to be Italy's next prime minister, threw down the gauntlet to her right-wing coalition partners on Wednesday, saying her new government would be pro-NATO and fully a part of Europe.

"Italy with us in government will never be the weak link in the West," she said in a statement, adding that any party that disagreed with this line could not join her administration.

The uncompromising comments came after the release of a leaked recording in which her conservative ally Silvio Berlusconi is heard accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of triggering the months-long war with Russia.

Berlusconi, 86, is a long-time friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his comments follow a stream of statements in in recent months in which he has backed Moscow's line over its invasion of Ukraine and criticised the West's response.

Meloni, who could be asked to form a government as soon as this weekend, has repeatedly promised to continue backing Ukraine and support Western sanctions against Russia.

"On one thing I have been, am, and will always be clear. I intend to lead a government with a clear and unequivocal foreign policy line," she said. "Anyone who does not agree with this cornerstone cannot be part of the government."