Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made a light-hearted remark about her smoking habit during a diplomatic exchange at the Gaza summit in Egypt on Wednesday, drawing laughter from fellow leaders including Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
What happened
During a friendly on-stage back-and-forth, President Erdoğan who has publicly committed to making Turkey smoke-free teased Ms Meloni about her cigarettes. The Italian prime minister responded with a jokey line about how hard it would be for her to give them up, saying she “didn’t want to kill somebody” rather than surrender her habit. The comment prompted visible amusement among attendees.
Context and reactions
Ms Meloni, 48, has spoken recently about resuming smoking after 13 years of abstinence, a detail she disclosed in her memoir. She has also joked in interviews that shared cigarette breaks have helped build rapport with other international leaders.
The exchange occurred amid wider summit discussions on Gaza, where Ms Meloni signalled Italy’s willingness to consider recognising a Palestinian state contingent on progress toward a ceasefire and pledged that Rome could contribute to stabilisation efforts including deploying Italian Carabinieri under a UN mandate if required.
Trump’s remarks at the summit
US President Donald Trump, who also attended the summit, made a separate light-hearted intervention praising Ms Meloni’s appearance and noting cultural differences in how compliments are received in U.S. politics. His comments added to the informal moments that punctuated a summit otherwise focused on high-stakes diplomacy.
Why it matters
- Humanizing moments between leaders can ease tense diplomatic environments.
- Ms Meloni’s public statements on Palestine signal growing Italian openness to recognition following a ceasefire.
- Personal habits like smoking occasionally become talking points in diplomatic optics.
About the Author
