Written by Faith Mwende
Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a brief meeting on Saturday during the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, according to Ukrainian officials.
This marked their first encounter since a tense Oval Office meeting earlier this year, as Trump continues to pressure Ukraine to accept a peace deal with Russia.
Trump was among dozens of world leaders present, many seeking private conversations with him about trade tariffs and other issues. However, the interaction with Zelensky drew the most attention, given the heightened tensions between Washington and Kyiv.
According to Sergiy Nykyforov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian presidency, the two leaders met privately before the funeral began, but no further details were provided.
During the ceremony, Trump and Zelensky were seated in the front row, separated by several other leaders. Although Zelensky glanced in Trump’s direction, no public interaction was observed.
Prior to the event, both sides had kept expectations low regarding a possible meeting, with Trump only suggesting it was “possible.”
Relations between the two have been strained since a February 28 Oval Office meeting, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance criticized Zelensky, accusing him of being ungrateful for the billions of dollars in U.S. military aid provided since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Trump has increasingly shifted blame for the ongoing conflict onto Zelensky and urged him to make significant concessions — including accepting Russian control of Crimea, seized by Moscow in 2014 — as part of any peace deal.
Arriving in Rome late Friday, Trump reiterated calls for Ukrainian and Russian leaders to meet directly to finalize a settlement. Posting on his Truth Social platform, he claimed the sides were “very close to a deal” and urged high-level negotiations to complete it, noting that “most major points are agreed to.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the possibility of direct talks with Ukraine during a Friday meeting with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
However, Zelensky maintained his stance that Ukraine would not recognize Crimea as Russian territory. Witkoff’s meeting with Putin came shortly after a top Russian general was killed in a car bombing outside Moscow, adding to the tensions.
An increasingly frustrated Trump recently warned that he might withdraw U.S. support for the peace process if significant progress toward a ceasefire is not achieved soon.
Although Trump previously vowed to end the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours if re-elected, he later suggested in a Time magazine interview that his claim was made “in jest.”
