Zelensky and Trump meet within the Church of St. Peter before the Pope’s funeral

Ukrainian President Folodimir Zellinski and US President Donald Trump met inside Bazilica St. Peter before the funeral of Pope Francis.

The White House described the 15 -minute meeting as “very fruitful”, and a Ukrainian spokesman said that the couple would meet for the second time later on Saturday.

Trump and Zelinski attend the service in the Vatican city, along with the heads of state and other royal family, including Prince William, the UK Prime Minister Sir Kerr Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Their meeting comes one day after Trump said that Russia and Ukraine were “very close to the deal”, following talks between his envoy Steve Witkev and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.

The fourth meeting of this visit by Witkoff to Russia since the beginning of the year was described by three hours later described it as “very useful” by Putin Uri Oshkov assistant.

Ushakov also added that he has approached “Russian positions and the United States more than each other, not only on Ukraine but also on a set of other international issues” that were discussed in particular “the possibility of resuming direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian actors.”

The White House Director of Communications at the White House said more details about the Vatican City meeting between Trump and Zelinski will follow him.

Saturday meetings are the first time that the two leaders have met face to face since February after an unprecedented confrontation in the Oval Office.

During Trump’s hot exchange The Ukrainian President was accused of “gambling with World War III” By not communicating with the ceasefire plans led by Washington.

Kiev was at the recipient of Trump’s increasing pressure to accept regional concessions as part of an agreement with Moscow to end the war.

According to what was reported, these concessions will include abandoning large parts of the lands, including the Crimean Peninsula, which were illegally included in Russia in 2014.

Zelensky has repeatedly rejected the idea in the past. On Friday, BBC suggested that “a full and unconditional shooting stop opens the possibility of discussing everything.”

During the funeral, the husband did not sit near each other due to the sitting arrangements organized in the French alphabet.