But French President Emmanuel Macron, who was next to them, was quick to dash Erdoğan’s hopes. “It’s impossible!” he said laughing.
“I know, I know,” Meloni said, adding a warning that quitting smoking might make her less sociable. “I don’t want to kill somebody.”
In a book based on a series of interviews, Meloni confessed she had started smoking again after quitting for 13 years. But she also acknowledged that smoking had helped her bond with other politicians, including Tunisian President Kais Saied.
Sofiane Zaizoune contributed to this report