"ROME, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of the European leaders closest to Donald Trump, said on Thursday she believed the U.S. president-elect would defend Western interests once he took office and would not abandon Ukraine.
Meloni pushed for unannounced talks with Trump, winning praise from the incoming president, who called her "a fantastic woman".
Speaking at a press conference in Rome, Meloni mentioned she had received an invitation to Trump's and was eager to make time for it.
"If I can, I will happily go," she told reporters.
Meloni's supporters hope the conservative leader will have privileged access to Trump over the next four years and become a bridge between Washington and Europe.
She used Thursday's two-hour news conference to allay concerns that Trump might break with Washington's traditional European allies as he pursued a Make-America-Great-Again agenda.
Trump alarmed many Western capitals this week when he refused to rule out using military or economic action to pursue an acquisition of Greenland, and also floated the idea of turning Canada into a U.S. state.
"Regarding the Greenland-Panama issue, I feel confident in excluding the possibility that the USA will attempt to annex territories of interest to them by force in the coming years," Meloni said.
She said Trump was simply signaling that he would not allow key strategic concerns near the United States to fall under the influence of foreign competitors, such as China.
"My thinking is that these statements are ... a vigorous way to say the United States will not stand by while other major global players move into areas that are of strategic interest to the United States and, I would add, to the West," Meloni said.
Meloni also dismissed speculation that Trump would stop supporting Ukraine and try to force it to accept unfavorable terms to end its almost six-year conflict.
"I do not expect a disengagement by the United States from Ukraine," Meloni said, adding that the only way to persuade Moscow to negotiate was if it was in a difficult position.
"Trump has the ability to balance diplomacy and deterrence, and I predict that this will be the case this time too."
Meloni's only criticism of Trump's proposed program was over his pledge to impose tariffs on global imports into the U.S.
"I think tariffs are not the right solution, but I believe that solutions can be found by talking with EU partners and the USA," she said.
Defense spending is also likely to cause tension between Italy and Washington, with Trump calling for NATO members to increase their military budgets to 5% of GDP.
Italy currently spends barely 1.5% of its GDP on defense. Meloni avoided the question on Thursday, saying the issue lies with European budget rules, which do not provide governments with deficit leeway over military expenditure.
"The issue is more internal to the European Union, which must identify tools if it wants to have competitive defense. Unfortunately, it does not have them or they are not adequate."