Italian leader Giorgia Meloni said Friday she hoped US President Donald Trump would end the conflict in Ukraine so she could nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Meloni revels in her cordial ties with Trump, who has expressed frustration at failing to win the prize.
"I hope that one day we can award a Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump," Italian Prime Minister Meloni told a press conference after meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
"I trust that if he makes a difference... in achieving a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, for Ukraine too... finally, we too could nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize."
In a message to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store made public on Monday, Trump said failing to get the prize meant he no longer felt obliged "to think purely of peace".
On Thursday, Trump unveiled his "Board of Peace", initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory's revival, but which has morphed into a mechanism aiming to resolve all sorts of international conflicts.
Italy has been invited to join the "Board", but Meloni said she had told Trump that Italy faced "constitutional problems".
Italy's constitutional rules do not allow the country to join an organization led by a single foreign leader, according to media reports.
Trump is the chairman of the "Board", as well as serving as the US representative and the chair of its executive board.
Meloni said she had asked Trump to reopen the framework "to meet the needs not only of Italy, but also of other European countries".
"We must try to do this work," she said. "The presence of countries like ours can make a difference."
