Solovyov insulted the Italian Prime Minister.
Italy recalled its ambassador following Solovyov's insults.
Italy summoned Russia's ambassador to the country to protest insulting remarks made against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Reuters reported this, citing Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
"I summoned the Russian ambassador to the Foreign Ministry and expressed a formal protest over the extremely serious and insulting statements made by TV host Vladimir Solovyev on Russian television," Tajani wrote on social media platform X.
It is noted that in a one-minute clip, Solovyev swore in Italian, insulting Meloni as an "extreme idiot" and using even harsher words.
He also called Meloni a "fascist scum who betrayed voters by promising them something completely different" in Russian.
Solovyev also said: "Betrayal is one of her names. She also sold out Donald Trump, to whom she had previously pledged loyalty."
Meloni leads a right-wing government that has been providing military and civilian aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion. However, her coalition also includes the "League" party, which has close ties with the Kremlin.
Recently, Meloni has cooled relations with Trump, who was previously a close ally. She has maintained distance on the issue of conflict with Iran and openly objected to the US president's sharp criticism of Pope Leo.
This is not the first sharp statement made by Vladimir Solovyev targeting foreign leaders and other countries. In January of this year, he called for Russia to conduct a "special military operation" in Central Asia and Armenia.
At that time, he emphasized that Armenia and Central Asia are more important to Russia than Syria or Venezuela, stating that losing these territories would lead to major problems. He also referred to the Central Asian region as "our Asia."
