President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met privately in Rome Saturday before attending the funeral for Pope Francis.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the press pool traveling with Trump that the two men had a “very productive session.” More details about the meeting “will follow,” he said.
This was the first meeting between the two men since their contentious encounter in the White House Oval Office in late February.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, April 26, 2025.
@ermaka2022/AFP via Getty Images
Late Friday, following Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier in the day, Trump posted that it was “A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” and suggested it’s now time for the two sides to meet at “very high levels.”
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to “finish it off,” he wrote on his social media site.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump stand alongside leaders as they attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony at St Peter’s Square at the Vatican, April 26, 2025.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!” Trump added in the post, but provided no additional information about the apparent progress.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025.
Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
President Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena Zelenska, were seated about seven people away from Trump and the first lady Melania Trump, according to the press pool.
Former President Biden and former first lady Jill Biden were about four rows behind them.