Emma Rossiter and Paul Kirby
BBC News
Andriy Yermak/Telegram
Ukrainian President Voldymee Zelensky and US President Donald Trump met inside the St. Peters Basilica ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral.
The White House described the 15-minute meeting as “very productive,” and Zelensky later said they were able to discuss a lot.
Trump and Zelensky were photographed sitting locked in deep discussion minutes before Pope Francis’ funeral was due to begin.
The meeting followed talks between his envoy Steve Witkov and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, the day after President Trump said Russia and Ukraine were “very close to the deal.”
Posting an image of Zelensky sitting with Trump, the head of Andri Yamak, the head of Ukrainian leaders’ office, added a word “constructive.”
The two leaders had not met since a fierce oval office meeting at the White House at the end of February.
He repeated the message this week, saying that the Ukrainian leader “has no card to play.”
Two images of the man showed Trump wearing a blue suit. Zelensky wore a black top and pants.
Andriy Yermak/Telegram
British Prime Minister Kielstama and French President Emmanuel Macron speak with Trump and Zelensky at the cathedral
Andriy Yermak/Telegramandriy Yermak/Telegram
Another image was posted by the Ukrainian delegation from inside St. Peter. Two men showed themselves standing with Starmer of Ir Kiel and Emmanuel Macron of France.
The meaning was that the Prime Minister and the French president helped bring together the two who opposed the gloomy background of the Pope’s funeral.
White House Communications Director Stephen Chan said details of the Vatican City private meeting between Trump and Zelensky would follow.
After the meeting, the two men went down the stairs to the cathedral and took their seats in the front row.
During service, Zelensky and Trump sat a little distance from each other. Macron and other heads of state were in between.
In his Homily, Cardinal Giovanni Batista spoke about Pope Francis’ constant call for peace. “Building a bridge, not a wall,” was an exhortation he repeated over and over,” Cardinal said.
Ukrainian officials were talking about the possibility of a second meeting, but Trump’s motorcade quickly left St. Peter and his plane left Rome after a while.
Zelensky posted on social media that he had “a good meeting.” We discussed many things in one thing,” he added.
He said it was “a very iconic meeting that could become historic if joint results were achieved.”
Trump envoy Witkov left Moscow on Friday after a three-hour lecture visited Russia for the fourth time since the beginning of the year, after being described as “very useful” by Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov.
Ushakov also added that “the position of Russia and the United States has been brought closer to the extent that “in persons may resume direct talks between Russia and Ukrainian representatives, not just Ukraine, but also on a variety of other international issues.”
Saturday’s meeting is the first time the two leaders have met in person since February after an unprecedented conflict broke out in an oval office.
During the fierce exchange, Trump denounced the Ukrainian president of “World War I gambling” for not following Washington’s ceasefire plan.
Kiev was within the scope of increased pressure from Trump to accept territorial concessions as part of an agreement with Moscow to end the war.
These concessions reportedly include abandoning most of the land, including the Crimea Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Zelensky has repeatedly rejected this idea in the past. He proposed to the BBC on Friday that a “complete and unconditional ceasefires opens up the possibility of debating everything.”
