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.

Italian opposition leaders roundly criticized Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government for engaging in talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX on a €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) deal for encrypted communications systems.

Italy is reportedly close to sealing a €1.5 billion (£1.25 billion) deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX that would provide the country’s government with secure telecommunications.

Italy is in advanced talks with Elon Musk's SpaceX over a 1.5 billion euro ($1.55 billion) deal for the company to provide secure telecommunications to the government, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.

Good morning. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is said to near a deal with Italy, as the billionaire makes waves in the UK. Justin Trudeau is reportedly expected to resign. And read our interview with the man behind ChatGPT.

Italy is in advanced talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for a deal to provide secure telecommunications for the nation’s government — the largest such project in Europe, people with knowledge of the matter said Sunday.

Elon Musk said on Monday he was ready to provide Italy with secure communication services after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denied that the issue had come up during a weekend visit to the United States.