Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump met on Saturday morning ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis, Ukrainian officials said, in what is their first in person conversation since their disastrous Oval Office meeting in February.
The Ukrainian president’s spokesperson said the meeting took place in Rome before the funeral began. The pair are expected to meet again after the funeral is over.
White House communications director Steven Cheung said the pair “had a very productive discussion” when they met.
It comes after Mr Trump said Russia and Ukraine are “very close” to a peace deal and should meet at a “very high level, as his administration continues to push for Kyiv to give away territory.
The Trump administration is urging Mr Zelensky to sign up to a peace deal with Vladimir Putin which would see vast swathes of Ukrainian territory remain in Russian hands.
As he touched down in Rome, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that it had been “a good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine” after Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy who has been deeply involved in the negotiations, met Mr Putin in Moscow on Friday for peace talks.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off.’ Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW,” Mr Trump wrote on his social media site.
In February, the Ukrainian president met with Mr Trump in the Oval Office - a meeting which descended into a furious shouting match, ending with the Ukrainian president leaving without having signed a deal pivotal to securing US help in ending the war with Russia.
On Saturday, Mr Zelensky received a round of applause as he left St Peter’s Basilica, where he had paid his respects to Pope Francis in front of the pontiff’s coffin ahead of the funeral ceremony.
Mr Trump and his wife Melania were also among the leaders who filed past the Pope’s casket before the funeral.
Sir Keir Starmer and the Prince of Wales – who is attending on behalf of the King – did the same before joining the congregation in St Peter’s Square, estimated by the Vatican at 200,000, for the open-air funeral mass.
