This morning, President Trump engaged in a dialogue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, just ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral.
Along with First Lady Melania Trump, the former president joined an array of global leaders who gathered in the Vatican to honor the late Pope, who passed away at the age of 88 earlier this week.
A brief video snippet of their interaction has surfaced:
While specifics of their conversation remain under wraps, a White House spokesperson characterized the meeting as “very productive,” according to reports from Fox News.
Following their meeting, Zelensky took to X (formerly Twitter), expressing optimism about achieving a “reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out.” He stated:
We had a good meeting. We covered a lot in our one-on-one discussion. I hope for positive outcomes regarding all the topics we addressed. Our goal remains to protect the lives of our people and push for a full and unconditional ceasefire. This meeting is quite symbolic and holds the potential for a historic outcome if we can achieve joint results. Thank you.
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… pic.twitter.com/q4ZhVXCjw0
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 26, 2025
This marks the first encounter between Trump and Zelensky since a tumultuous meeting in the Oval Office last February, where Zelensky’s actions were perceived as detrimental to peace negotiations, notably by not honoring a pre-established peace agreement.
Previously, Ukraine had consented to a mineral rights deal requested by Trump, aimed at compensating American taxpayers for the substantial financial support provided by Joe Biden over the past four years. However, the formalization of this agreement fell through, leading to Zelensky’s abrupt departure from the White House following their heated exchange.
In recent statements, President Trump has criticized both Zelensky and Putin concerning the ongoing conflict.
On Tuesday, Zelensky reiterated Ukraine’s stance of not acknowledging Russia’s occupation of Crimea. Trump responded on Wednesday, deeming this declaration as “very harmful to the peace negotiations with Russia,” pointing out that Crimea was lost years ago during the Obama administration.
The day after, Trump publicly admonished Russian President Vladimir Putin for missile strikes on Kyiv, labeling them as “unnecessary and poorly timed.”
President Trump Tells Putin to Stop Strikes on Kyiv – “Let’s Get The Peace Deal DONE!”
Trump has recently expressed a belief that peace is within reach, suggesting that both nations may be ready to broker a deal.
This story is still unfolding.
