Private Meeting Between Trump and Zelenskyy Held Before Pope's Funeral, Reports White House

According to the White House statement on Saturday, President Donald Trump held a closed-door session with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy preceding the Pope's funeral, which they described as a fruitful exchange.

An official from Ukraine affirmed that the dialogue included plans to schedule a future meeting. The Ukrainian presidency reported interactions involving Trump, Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the Pope's memorial, as noted by AFP.

Along with over fifty state leaders and distinguished guests, Trump attended the funeral to show respect to the Catholic pontiff, despite various public disagreements on key issues in the past.

During the event, a brief encounter took place between Trump and Prince William, BBC News mentioned.

Accompanying Trump was the First Lady, Melania Trump, as they arrived for the solemn ceremony. Attending the event, Zelenskyy was also present at the Vatican with his wife.

Prior to his journey to Rome, Trump expressed his intention to attend the farewell to Pope Francis due to the pontiff's death from a stroke at age 88, highlighting the respect he had for him.

Trump and Pope Francis had earlier contested over their differing views on matters like immigration and climate policies. Notably, the Pope had once questioned Trump's Christianity due to his border wall plans, which Trump criticized as offensive.

Posthumously, Trump commended the Pope as a virtuous man who devotedly served and cared for global issues, ordering flags to be lowered in his memory.

While leaving Washington, Trump initially planned multiple discussions with international leaders but reconsidered, finding it unsuitable against the backdrop of a funeral.

As Trump remarked to reporters during his flight, it wasn't ideal to arrange formal talks during the mourning, yet acknowledged informal encounters were likely.

Although staying briefly at the U.S. ambassador's villa in Rome and faced with tight scheduling, Trump mentioned informal meetings could occur.

A preference for impromptu meetings with significant figures was part of Trump's Rome visit, with ongoing efforts in managing internationally impactful negotiations.

On his social platform Truth Social after landing, Trump proposed high-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to potentially resolve the protracted conflict, noting progress as his envoy met with Putin.

Zelenskyy and his wife joined the funeral proceedings in Rome on Saturday, unlike Russian President Vladimir Putin, who did not attend.