Trump, Zelenskiy meet in Vatican Basilica; hold ceasefire talks
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy, both in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, met one-on-one in a marble-lined Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Zelenskiy said the meeting could prove historic if it delivers the kind of peace he is hoping for, and a White House spokesman called it “very productive".
The two leaders, leaning in close to each other with no aides around them while seated in St Peter’s Basilica, spoke for about 15 minutes, according to Zelenskiy’s office, which also released photographs of the meeting.
The meeting at the Vatican, their first since an angry encounter in the Oval Office in Washington in February, comes at a critical time in negotiations aimed at bringing an end to the fight between Ukraine and Russia.
In a post on social media platform Telegram, Zelenskiy wrote: “Good meeting. One-on-one, we managed to discuss a lot. We hope for a result from all the things that were spoken about."
He said those topics included: “The protection of the lives of our people. A complete and unconditional ceasefire. A reliable and lasting peace that will prevent a recurrence of war."
Zelenskiy added: “It was a very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic if we achieve joint results. Thank you, President Donald Trump!"
Steven Cheung, White House communications director, said the two leaders had met privately and had “a very productive discussion. More details about the meeting will follow".
No aides in sight
After Trump and Zelenskiy met in the basilica, the two men joined other world leaders outside in Saint Peter’s Square at the funeral service for Pope Francis, who made the pursuit of peace, including in Ukraine, a motif of his papacy.
Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who gave the sermon at the funeral service, recalled how Pope Francis did not stop raising his voice to call for negotiations to end conflicts.
“War always leaves the world worse than it was before: it is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone," the cardinal said.
A Zelenskiy spokesman had earlier said aides to the two leaders were working on arrangements for a follow-up meeting in Rome later on Saturday. The spokesman subsequently said, after Trump’s aircraft took off from Rome, that the second meeting did not happen, citing the presidents’ tight schedules.
Differences over territory
Trump, who has been pressing both sides to agree to a ceasefire, said on Friday that there had been productive talks between his envoy and the Russian leadership in Moscow, and called for a high-level meeting between Kyiv and Moscow to close a deal.
Trump had previously warned his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve peace if the two sides do not agree to a deal soon.
After a round of shuttle diplomacy this week, differences have emerged between the position of the Trump White House on peace talks and the stance of Ukraine and its European allies, according to documents from the talks obtained by Reuters.
Washington is proposing a legal recognition that Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, is Russian territory, something that Kyiv and its allies in Europe say is a red line they will not cross.
There are also differences on how quickly sanctions on Russia would be lifted if a peace deal was signed, what kind of security guarantees Ukraine would have, and how Ukraine would be financially compensated.
World