The funeral of Pope Francis offers an opportunity for the “brush” diplomacy

World leaders may meet on Saturday to push their respect for his colleague a statesman who has more members of his church than their states.

But they may also use the Pope’s funeral as a rare and unexpected opportunity to conduct a slightly improvised diplomacy.

Because it will be one of the largest gatherings of heads of state and the global government since the funeral of the late Queen in 2022.

Diplomats said there are few plans for official meetings between government leaders because this will not be in a spirit of official occasion.

“We do not want to be unauthorized for our hosts,” said one of the European diplomats. “But will there be opportunities for brush?” certainly. “

This was a reference to psoriasis conversations that could happen on the margins of the summit or a brush of leaders “from each other while they find their seats.

Another official said, “It is a funeral. We are carefully.”

Of course, all eyes will be on whether the presidents of Trump and Zelinski are using the opportunity to be in the same place to discuss the risk of a ceasefire in Ukraine. They will sit in the Saint Peter Square area for world leaders in the alphabetical order by the country.

You may imagine that this means that the leaders of the United States and Ukraine will sit near each other. But French was historically the language of diplomacy, so the president of Les états-hea may be a distance from his Ukrainian counterpart.

Given the tensions between the two leaders, some diplomats said that this may not be a bad thing and can avoid the risk of confronting such an oval office in February.

Each of the two men could meet in other places in Rome, as some European countries were contemplating, but it was not clear whether that possible. “If this happens, it will be improvised,” said one of the diplomats.

On Tuesday, Zelinski said he was in principle to see Trump in Rome. “We are always ready to meet our partners from the United States of America,” he said.

The next day, Trump said he had “held a lot of meetings” but he did not say with whom. On Friday, Zelinski casts doubt whether he will be able to attend after all, in the wake of the latest Russian strikes on KYIV, his travel plans are disrupted.

The diplomatic focus will be on the part of St. Peter’s Square, where presidents, prime ministers, princes and owners will sit waiting for them to start. This will be the main opportunity for mixing and discussing today’s issues, to make contacts and establish relationships.

The trip to Rome can also provide an opportunity for diplomatic confrontations. The Vatican said that 170 delegations are coming, including about 50 heads of state, 15 government primees and 12 kings. Opportunities to meet at a Roma airport upon arrival or leaving high.

But while the funerals can offer diplomatic opportunities, they can pose threats. There is a possibility that leaders will come into contact with a discount. This is because politicians who are subject to European travel sanctions can visit the Vatican city because it is a neutral area. It is important, President Vladimir Putin is not attended by Russia, nor President Xi Jinping from China.

• You can watch and follow the funeral directly here on the BBC website and application. In the United Kingdom, there will be live coverage on the BBC one of 0830-1230 BST, which was provided by Rete Chakrabarti, available to see iPlayer. There will also be live coverage on the BBC News channel provided by Maryam Machiri. Finally, you can also follow the funeral coverage in the BBC World service

The most unpredictable moment can come in the same service. Francis Campbell, the British ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 to 2011, said that the funeral mass involves a moment when the celebration is given to each other a sign of peace, and leaders can find themselves shaking hands with the people who do not prefer them. “You cannot avoid it,” he said. “You are attending a religious party, and you have to participate as much as possible.”

At the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, Prince of Wales found himself unexpectedly with President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. The king’s spokesman said in the future that “he was arrested by surprise.”

There are also risks to appearing several thousand mourners. At the same funeral in 2005, the crowd George W. Bush was shown when his face was shown on a screen, a clear ruling on the war of the US President in Iraq.

Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson is to formulate the phrase “good business funeral” in terms of service that determines the death of Winston Churchill in 1965.

Jeff Bardge, professor of honorary international relations at Leicester University, said the funerals were of great value.

He wrote in his book, diplomacy: theory and practice: “They provide state and government heads a good excuse to break the existing tables for urgent discussions on current problems without raising general expectations.”

In recent years, there have been many funerals after the death of the late Queen, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Ibrahim Risi, the Iranian president.

But “work funerals” was also a satire. Jim Hacker, Prime Minister named The Yees, the BBC Prime Minister, said the funerals were the opportunity of a “paradise sent”.

“The generous sadness decreases well with the voters, especially when statesmen share it in the world,” he told his assistants. The funerals of the work were “much better than the top because there are no expectations. People do not expect to return from a funeral with testing agreements or farm quotes discounts. So we can actually make some significant discussions. The top is just a public relations circulation.”