Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended Elon Musk's growing involvement in politics on Thursday and said she had never discussed with him a potential deal to supply secure communications to Italy.
The right-wing leader dismissed concerns about political interference as the U.S. tech billionaire, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, steps up his comments on European politics on his social media site X.
Meloni said Italy faced a dilemma over how to protect its sensitive communications as there are currently no Italian or EU-backed alternative systems to Starlink.
Full rollout of the EU's IRIS2 (Iris squared) satellite constellation is not expected before the end of 2030.
"Either we talk to a private company or we do not protect this data. What is the preferable scenario between two sub-optimal scenarios?" said Meloni.
