Meloni breaks 15-year UN tradition, skips summit after months of ‘spat’ with Trump | UNGA 2026

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is skipping this week’s United Nations General Assembly, breaking a roughly 15-year stretch of Italian prime ministers attending the annual high-level debate. Meloni cited a packed schedule after attending six summits in three and a half weeks. Her absence also comes amid months of public tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump over Iran, NATO and other international issues.