Washington, DC [US], August 19 (HBTV): Amid US President Donald Trump's multilateral meeting with European Union leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s arrival drew attention as she greeted US Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley with a 'namaste'.

'Namaste' is an Indian form of greeting with folded hands, which Meloni has used earlier, including while welcoming leaders at the G7 meet in Italy.

A video also showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeting Meloni and engaging in a brief conversation with her during the summit. Their camaraderie has been widely noticed on social media, where the trending hashtag #Melodi has highlighted their friendly rapport.

PM Modi and Meloni have shared light-hearted moments at international events, including a selfie at the COP28 summit in Dubai, where Meloni captioned the photo ‘Good friends at COP28, #Melodi’. Similar interactions were seen during the G20 summit in India, with social media users editing videos to present the two leaders in a playful manner with Bollywood music overlays.

Beyond the public attention, their interactions reflect a growing diplomatic partnership between India and Italy, particularly in areas such as sustainability, energy, and industry.

Meanwhile, at the US summit, Meloni reiterated her support for Ukraine and called for a united stance on peace.

‘If we want to reach peace and if we want to guarantee justice, we have to do it united. We are on the side of Ukraine,’ she told Trump.

She also noted a shift in Russia’s position, saying: ‘It is an important day — a new phase — after three years that we didn’t see any kind of sign from the Russian side that they were willing for dialogue, so something is changing — something has changed — thanks to you.’

(ANI)