It was already expected that all eyes would be on U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican City on April 26, 2025, and that is exactly what happened.
At the funeral of Pope Francis, a massive diplomatic moment grabbed attention as U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met privately amid mounting global efforts to secure peace in Ukraine.
The meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky at Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome marked their first face-to-face encounter since a highly contentious Oval Office meeting in February, which had led to massive tensions between the U.S. and Ukraine. During that earlier White House meeting, Trump and Vice President JD Vance reportedly shouted at Zelensky, accusing him of not being sufficiently grateful for U.S. support in Ukraine’s war against Russia, resulting in a diplomatic rift.
The context of their meeting was highly charged. Trump has been advocating for a peace proposal that would see the United States formally recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea and implicitly accept Moscow’s control over other occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine.
The White House stated that President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a private meeting ahead of Pope Francis' funeral in Rome, describing the conversation as "very productive".
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)