President Trump and Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Meet Inside St Peter’s Basilica for Discussions

Rome: U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have met inside St Peter’s Basilica ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral.

According to Ethiopian News Agency, the White House described the 15-minute meeting as “very productive,” while Zelenskyy later referred to it as “very symbolic” with the “potential to become historic.” The two leaders were pictured in deep discussion just minutes before the commencement of Pope Francis’ funeral.

The meeting followed Trump’s recent comments suggesting that Russia and Ukraine were “very close to a deal.” This statement was made after talks between Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

White House communications director Steven Cheung confirmed that President Trump and President Zelenskyy conferred privately, labeling the discussion as very productive. He mentioned that more details about the meeting would follow in due course.

Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, also described the meeting as “constructive” but did not provide further details. The discussions between the two presidents occur amidst growing challenges in negotiations to resolve the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.