US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky had a “very productive” meeting in Rome on Saturday, a White House spokesman said, as both leaders attended the funeral of Pope Francis.
A spokesman for Zelensky's office said that during the meeting in St. Peter's Basilica, which lasted about 15 minutes, they agreed to hold a second meeting later in the day and their teams were working to arrange that meeting.
The Vatican meeting, the first since a tense confrontation in the Oval Office in Washington in February, comes at a critical moment in talks aimed at ending fighting between Ukraine and Russia.
“President Trump and President Zelensky met privately today and had a very constructive conversation. Details of the meeting will be announced at a later date,” said Steven Cheung, White House communications director.
Zelensky’s office posted photos of the meeting in Rome. In one, the Ukrainian and American leaders sit across from each other in a large marble room, about two feet apart, leaning toward each other as they talk. No aides are visible in the photo.
A second photograph taken at the same location showed Zelensky, Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron standing in a tight circle, with Macron placing his hand on Zelensky's shoulder.
Trump, who has called for both sides to agree to a cease-fire, said on Friday that productive talks had taken place between his envoy and Russian leaders and called for a high-level meeting between Kiev and Moscow to seal the deal.
Trump has previously warned that his administration would end peace efforts if the two sides do not reach an agreement soon.
After a round of shuttle diplomacy this week, differences emerged between the Trump White House's position on peace talks and that of Ukraine and its European allies, according to documents obtained by Reuters.
Washington is proposing to legally recognize Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, as Russian territory, which Kyiv and its allies in Europe say is a red line they are not prepared to cross.
There are also disagreements about how quickly sanctions against Russia will be lifted if a peace agreement is signed, what security guarantees Ukraine will receive, and how Ukraine will be able to receive financial compensation.
Trump and Zelensky have had a rocky personal relationship. At a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of “playing with World War III.”
Kyiv has since tried to mend fences, but the back-and-forth has continued. Zelensky said Trump was in a “disinformation bubble” that favors Moscow, while the U.S. leader accused Zelensky of stalling the peace deal and making “inflammatory” statements.
But the two need each other. Trump needs Zelensky’s support to achieve his stated goal of a quick peace between Russia and Ukraine, while Kyiv needs Trump to pressure Moscow to soften some of the tougher conditions it has set for a truce.
At an Oval Office meeting in February, a reporter from a conservative American news channel who was there accused Zelensky of disrespecting the occasion by not wearing a suit.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Zelensky has ditched suits in favor of military-style clothing, saying he is expressing solidarity with his compatriots fighting to defend Ukraine.
On Saturday in Rome, Zelensky again eschewed a suit, wearing instead a dark button-down shirt with no tie and a dark military jacket over it. – Reuters
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
