Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump Saturday morning in Rome, Zelenskyy’s spokesman Sergii Nykyforov said, in the two leaders’ first encounter since their disastrous meeting in the White House in February.
Trump and Zelenskyy are in Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
Their meeting took place before the funeral started, Nykyforov said. No details of their discussion were available.
The two leaders agreed to meet after the funeral for further talks, La Repubblica reported.
Trump late Friday said that Kyiv and Moscow “are very close to a deal” on a ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict. Trump’s comments on Truth Social came hours after his special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Trump said it had been a “good day” of negotiations between the U.S. and Russia. The Kremlin described the talks as “constructive.” Ukraine was not represented at the Moscow meeting.
Pope Francis, who died on Monday, is having a state funeral at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City. The memorial, which is being attended by heads of state and high-ranking officials from around the world, is a rare opportunity for informal meetings between national leaders.
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