U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met inside St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of the funeral for Pope Francis on the morning of April 26.
The presidents met at St. Peter’s Basilica for about 15 minutes and agreed to continue negotiations later on Saturday, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nykyforov said.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung also confirmed the meeting and said they “met privately today and had a very productive discussion.”
Pope Francis regularly prayed for peace in Ukraine. He commissioned Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi as a papal envoy to push for peace between Russia and Ukraine. And in his final appearance on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis prayed, “May the risen Christ grant Ukraine, devastated by war, his Easter gift of peace, and encourage all parties involved to pursue efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace.”
Shortly after arriving in Rome last Friday, Trump said on social media that Ukraine and Russia should meet for “very high-level talks” on ending the three-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Friday, and Trump said both sides were “very close to a deal.”
Meanwhile, in a statement Friday night, Zelenskyy said that “very significant meetings may take place” in coming days, and that an unconditional ceasefire was needed.
“Real pressure on Russia is needed so that they accept either the American proposal to cease fire and move towards peace, or our proposal — whichever one can truly work and ensure a reliable, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire, and then — a dignified peace and security guarantees,” he said.
“Diplomacy must succeed. And we are doing everything to make diplomacy truly meaningful and finally effective.”
Russia launched three missiles and 114 drones over Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force wrote in a statement Saturday. Sixty-six drones were destroyed and a further 31 decoy drones failed to reach their destination.
