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Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a brief meeting at Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, officials said,
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) meets with US President Donald Trump (L) on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. (IMAGE: AFP)
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a brief meeting at St Peter’s Basilica during Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday. This was their first encounter since a tense exchange at the White House, as the US president urged the Ukrainian leader to pursue peace with Russia.
Zelenskyy mentioned they discussed an unconditional ceasefire with Russia and expressed hope for significant outcomes from this “very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic.”
The Ukrainian presidency shared photos of Trump and Zelenskyy engaged in deep discussion at the basilica, with the pope’s simple wooden coffin in the background.
“We covered many topics one on one. We are hoping for results on all discussed matters. Our priority is protecting the lives of our people, achieving a full and unconditional ceasefire, and ensuring lasting peace to prevent future conflicts,” Zelenskyy posted on X.
An aide to Zelenskyy described the meeting as “constructive,” and the White House termed it “a very productive discussion.”
However, the US President left Rome as scheduled immediately after the funeral mass, and there were no further talks.
Additionally, the two leaders briefly conversed with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron inside the basilica. Macron later had a one-on-one meeting with Zelenskyy. Macron’s office characterised the discussions among the four leaders as “positive.”
The ongoing war influenced the preparations for Francis’s funeral. During the event, Russia claimed its forces had “fully liberated” the border Kursk region. Ukraine, however, maintained that its army was still fighting in Kursk, hoping to use the territory as leverage in future peace negotiations.
Trump on Saturday criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine in recent days, and said “maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war.”
In a post on Truth Social after his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome, Trump also said maybe Putin “has to be dealt with differently,” possibly through additional sanctions targeting Moscow.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump said in the post.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
Putin told US envoy Steve Witkoff at a Friday meeting in Moscow that he was ready for talks with Ukraine “without preconditions,” the Kremlin said Saturday.
(with AFP inputs)
