Zelenskyy, Trump speak in Rome in first meeting since Oval Office bust-up
Meeting in St. Peter’s Basilica before the pope’s funeral lasted about 15 minutes, Ukraine said. The White House called it “a very productive discussion.”
VATICAN CITY — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump Saturday morning in Rome in the two leaders’ first encounter since their disastrous meeting at the White House in February.
The White House called it “a very productive discussion.” A Ukraine official said the two leaders could meet again later Saturday.
Trump and Zelenskyy are in Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis. Their meeting took place before the funeral started.
“President Trump and President Zelenskyy met privately today and had a very productive discussion,” said Steven Cheung, White House communications director. “More details about the meeting will follow,” he said.
Zelenskyy’s spokesman Sergii Nykyforov said the meeting took place in St. Peter’s Basilica and lasted about 15 minutes.
“The leaders agreed to continue the talks. The teams are working to organize a follow-up meeting,” perhaps just after the funeral, Nykyforov said.
Trump and Zelenskyy were joined at one point by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, but the U.S. and Ukrainian leaders also sat down together by themselves. Starmer and Macron have sought to mediate between Zelenskyy and Trump.
Trump late Friday said that Kyiv and Moscow “are very close to a deal” on a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict. Trump’s comments on Truth Social came hours after his special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
“Most of the major points are agreed to,” Trump said in his social media post shortly after arriving in Rome for the pope’s funeral. He urged the two sides to meet soon to “finish it off.”
Friday was a “good day” of negotiations between the U.S. and Russia, Trump said. The Kremlin described the talks as “constructive.” Ukraine was not represented at the Moscow meeting.
Trump warned recently that Washington could walk away from its efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal if the two sides do not show progress soon.
On Friday, the U.S. president pushed harder on the idea that Kyiv will have to make territorial concessions in any peace deal, saying in an interview with Time magazine that Crimea will never return to Ukraine.
“Crimea will stay with Russia,” Trump told the magazine. “Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that,” the U.S. president said. Trump has been driving to try to secure a peace deal before the end of 100 days in office, which is next week.
The U.S. president has insisted he is also putting pressure on Moscow to end the conflict. “You have no idea what pressure I’m putting on Russia,” Trump said Thursday. “We’re putting a lot of pressure on Russia,” he said without giving any specifics.
Pope Francis, who died on Monday, is having a state funeral at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. The memorial, which is being attended by heads of state and high-ranking officials from around the world, is a rare opportunity for informal meetings between national leaders.
(Source:Politico)
