Italy's presumed next premier, Giorgia Meloni, issued a stark warning to Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday that he risked losing influence in any new government over his friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as she asserted a strong pro-NATO, pro-European position about Russia's war in Ukraine. “Italy, with its head high, is part of Europe and the (NATO) Atlantic alliance,” she said. “Whoever doesn't agree with this cornerstone cannot be part of the government, at the cost of not having a government.”