Macron And Draghi Used Wine To Persuade Scholz To Support Ukraine

• 25.08.2026, 19:34

The wine "really helped" change the German chancellor's point of view.

In 2022, during diplomatic negotiations, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and French President Emmanuel Macronused wine to persuade German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to support Ukraine, said Italy’s former ambassador to Ukraine Pier Francesco Zazzo in an interview with "European Truth".

When asked by a journalist whether “three leaders and wine” had indeed been part of the negotiations, D’Azzo replied: “There really was wine, and it helped a lot. The goal was to convince the German chancellor, and it all started on the train on the way to Kyiv.”

According to Dzadzo, Scholz did not make a clear statement until the very last moment, announcing his support for Ukraine’s candidate status only at the press conference.