The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, told a prank caller posing as an African leader there was “a lot of tiredness” over the war in Ukraine and that she had some ideas up her sleeve on how to “find a way out”.
Meloni’s office confirmed that she had been “misled” into the phone call – reportedly by two Russian comedians – that took place on 18 September “by an impostor who passed himself off as the president of the African Union Commission”.
According to reports in the Italian press, the callers were two Russian comedians, Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, jointly known as Vovan and Lexus, one of whom presented himself to Meloni as “an African politician”.
Vovan and Lexus, who are strongly pro-Russia, have been accused of having links to Russian intelligence services, although there is no evidence to substantiate the allegation.
A recording of the call was published on the Canadian video-sharing platform Rumble before being picked up by the Russian state-owned news agency Ria Novosti.
“There is a lot of tiredness on all sides,” Meloni is heard saying regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine. “The moment is approaching when everyone will understand that we need a way out.
“Ukraine’s counteroffensive is not going as expected … It has not changed the fate of the conflict, and everyone understands that [the conflict] could last many years if we don’t find a solution. The Ukrainians are doing what they have to do and we are trying to help them.”
The problem, Meloni said, was “finding a way out that is acceptable for both sides without destroying international law”.
She added: “I have some ideas on how to manage this situation, but I’m waiting for the right moment to put them on the table.”
Publicly, Meloni has always been staunch in her support of Ukraine, a position that was reiterated by sources cited in the Italian press on Wednesday.
Vovan and Lexus are known to be adept at social engineering political leaders into taking their calls. Meloni’s office said she was targeted during an “intense” period when she was working to “strengthen relations” with African leaders whom she had arranged to meet on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York between 19 and 21 September.
Meloni has also been seeking the help of African leaders to stop migrant vessels crossing to Italy’s coast, a topic she raised during the call.
She said: “Europe has for a long time thought that it could solve the problem by limiting it to Italy. What they don’t understand is that it’s impossible. The dimension of this phenomenon is such that it involves not only the EU, but in my opinion also the UN. The problem is that others don’t care, and everyone agrees that Italy must solve this problem alone.”
