Trump-Zelenskyy Meet At Pope’s Funeral For The First Time After White House Public Blow Up

Rome: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump met in Rome before attending Pope Francis's funeral. This meeting followed a tense exchange between the two leaders during a White House visit weeks earlier, where discussions about Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks reportedly became heated.

Zelenskyy Meets Trump Before Pope Francis's Funeral 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump met briefly at the Vatican during Pope Francis's funeral. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes and was described as "productive" by both parties.

The funeral itself drew over 50 world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The funeral drew over 200,000 attendees, including delegations from more than 100 countries.

The meeting at the Vatican comes at a critical time, as Trump has been pushing for high-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to close a peace deal. He recently claimed that the two sides are "very close" to an agreement. Both leaders were among many world figures paying their respects to Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88.

Ukranian president Zelensky took to his social media handle where he shared a picture also thanked US president. His post reads, "Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you 
@POTUS"

Earlier, US President Donald Trump had said in an interview that “Crimea will stay with Russia” as Ukraine comes under mounting pressure to make concessions to end the war between the two countries.

“Zelensky understands that,” Mr Trump said, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, adding: “Everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time.”

 Donald Trump grabbed attention for wearing a dark blue suit and a lighter blue tie in a sea of mournful black attire. Trump was seated was seated in the front row with first lady Melania Trump.