Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting Italy to meet Giorgia Meloni at what may be the most delicate moment of his presidency. Half of Turkey is in turmoil, and his main political rival, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, is in jail on corruption charges. The trial has yet to begin, and the opposition denounces it as a true “coup". The Turkish leader will travel to Rome on April 17 for an intergovernmental conference that has been planned for months, accompanied by a group of ministers and entrepreneurs. The relationship between Italy and Turkey is experiencing significant growth: trade between the two countries exceeded $32 billion in 2024, and Ankara has recently signed significant defense investments, including the acquisition of Piaggio by Baykar and the alliance with Leonardo. Democratic Party MEP Dario Nardella is calling on Prime Minister Meloni to explain “why the summit with Erdogan was confirmed after the arrest of Mayor Imamoglu and the protests of millions of Turkish citizens demanding respect for freedom and democracy", and to clarify “what she plans to say to the Turkish president about this when she hugs him?".