President Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania, joined other prominent global leaders at Pope Francis’ funeral held at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Saturday, April 26. Trump was among numerous heads of state who gathered to pay their respects to the Catholic Church’s leader, who passed away on April 21 at the age of 88 following a period of health complications.
Prior to the service, Trump briefly met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Their meeting occurred on the sidelines of the funeral, before it commenced. This marks their first face-to-face encounter since February, during which their discussions regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict were widely reported and revealed disagreements.
According to White House communications director Steven Cheung, Trump and Zelensky. Zelensky’s spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov, mentioned that the meeting went on for about 15 minutes. Further discussions are anticipated between the two leaders at a later time.
President Zelensky’s office later shared a photograph of the meeting on social media, showing Trump and Zelensky seated across from each other in a marbled room. The image depicts the U.S. President leaning in attentively as the Ukrainian leader speaks.
The Trump-Zelensky meeting occurred shortly after Trump publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite their historically positive relationship. On Thursday, April 24, Trump used his social media platform, Truth Social, to denounce the Russian leader’s involvement in a deadly attack on Kyiv, Ukraine. ” Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!,” he posted.
Zelensky has generally received since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. On Saturday, upon his arrival at St. Peter’s Basilica for Pope Francis’ funeral service, , as thousands gathered outside to honor the late Pontiff.
Despite Trump’s previous claim of being able to end the war in Ukraine on the first day of his second term, the conflict persists. During a on April 22, Trump responded to a question regarding the possibility of peace while Putin remains President of Russia.
“I believe with me as President, there’s—possible, if [a] very probable [chance],” Trump stated. “If somebody else is President, no chance.”
Trump continued, “I believe I’m the only one that can get this thing negotiated. And I think we’re a long way. We’ve had very good talks, and we’re getting very close to a deal. And I don’t believe anybody else could have made that deal.”