The Italian embassy in Albania was forced to pay, at the request of Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, for the consumption of Italian tourists in the city of Berat (center-south), after they left a restaurant without paying, reports AFP.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he discussed with Giorgia Maloni the case of a group of Italian tourists who “evaporated” without paying for a restaurant in this historic city, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, News.ro reports.

“She grimaced and gave the following order to the ambassador: “pay the bill to these idiots, please, and make a statement! Italy cannot be disgraced in this situation,” the Albanian prime minister told the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

The story of these Italian tourists, who left without paying the bill, was on the front pages of the Albanian press and went viral on social media.

The Italian embassy in Albania confirmed on Friday that it had paid the €80 bill left unpaid by the group of four Italian tourists.

“On the recommendation of Prime Minister Georgia Maloney, we paid this bill, which was left unpaid by a group of Italian tourists in the city of Berat,” the embassy announced in a press release.

“Italians respect the rules and pay their debts, and we hope that similar incidents will not happen again,” the embassy added.

High prices forced many Italians to spend their holidays on the other side of the Adriatic Sea this summer.