Former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly set aside their differences and reached a preliminary agreement after meeting ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome.
According to Sky News, the meeting marked the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since their tense confrontation at the White House earlier this year. A source told the outlet that the two had a “very productive discussion” after traveling to the Vatican for the service.
Earlier this week, Trump claimed that a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia was “very close,” urging Zelenskyy to “get it done.”
“We are very close to a deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He added: “I look forward to being able to help Ukraine and Russia get out of this complete and total MESS, which would have never started if I were president!”
In a separate post on Thursday, Trump condemned a deadly Russian drone strike on Kyiv that killed at least nine people and injured 90 others — the deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since last July.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!” Trump wrote.
It is reported that Trump and Zelenskyy agreed to hold further talks following Pope Francis’ funeral service.
Trump travelled to Rome with First Lady, Melania (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Today (April 26), funeral proceedings for the Pope began, drawing hundreds of thousands to St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, including world leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The service had only just begun when former U.S. President Donald Trump faced criticism for what many perceived as a lack of respect.
Trump, accompanied by his wife Melania, attended alongside other prominent figures including Starmer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Prince William. However, he quickly drew backlash on social media for arriving not in traditional black attire, but in a blue suit.
One user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote: “Trump is the only world leader without the respect to wear black at Pope Francis’ funeral. He’s a disgrace to America and the world. God bless Pope Francis.”
Another commented: “What is it with Trump that he didn’t even have the decency to wear a black tie — never mind the blue suit.”
Zelenskyy is said to have had talks with Trump prior to the service (TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
Prior to leaving Washington yesterday, Trump said of Francis: “[He] loved the world, actually, and he was just a good man. I thought he was a fantastic kind of a guy.”
However, he then went on to discuss how the funeral would also see him able to ‘meet with a lot’ of other world leaders.
Trump told MSNBC: “It’s going to be very interesting. We’re going to meet with a lot of the foreign leaders, they want to meet.
“Trade deals are going very well. I think Russia and Ukraine, I think they are coming along, we hope, very fragile.
“And Iran I think is going very well. We’ll see what happens. We’re working on plenty of things.”
