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.

ROME — Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni said Thursday that her government is in talks with several private companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, over the country’s telecoms security system, but denied having discussed the issue privately with Musk.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denies discussing a deal with Elon Musk's Starlink for encrypted telecommunications services for the military.

ROME (Reuters) -Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday she had never discussed with Elon Musk a potential deal to use his Starlink to supply secure communications for the military. Meloni,

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni clarified that she has not discussed using Elon Musk's Starlink for military communication projects worth 1.5 billion euros. She emphasized Italy's national interests as pivotal in such decisions amidst opposition concerns about involvement with SpaceX.

Italy's defence minister sought on Wednesday to defuse a political row sparked by a report that Italy planned to ask Elon Musk's Starlink to supply new secure communications services for use by the military.

Reports that Elon Musk's SpaceX is in advanced negotiations with the Italian government over the provision of internet and telecommunications via its Starlink system have raised security and competition concerns.