Trump, Zelensky Meet At Pope's Funeral Weeks After White House Clash

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his US counterpart Donald Trump met on Saturday in Rome for Pope Francis's funeral, after the White House said Kyiv and Moscow were "very close to a deal", the Ukrainian presidency announced.

"The meeting took place and is already over," Zelensky's spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov told journalists.

This is their first in-person meeting since their clash in the Oval Office in February. The two leaders were not seated close to one another, per the New York Post, as the Vatican had seated delegations at the funeral in French alphabetical order.

Zelensky spoke about the meeting in a post on X saying, "Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered." He also added, "Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results."

Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to… pic.twitter.com/q4ZhVXCjw0

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 26, 2025

In February, the ugly clash blew up in the Oval Office where Trump and Vice President JD Vance shouted at Zelensky, accusing him of not being "thankful" for US help in the three-year war.

Trump and Zelensky were both seen accompanied by their wives, and sat in the front row of the funeral in St Peter's Square, but were separated by other leaders.

The White House said Saturday that US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky had a "very productive" meeting ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis. 

"President Trump and President Zelensky met privately today and had a very productive discussion," said White House communications director Steven Cheung.

Although Trump has called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the attacks on Ukraine, he has blamed Zelensky for the war.

Per Trump, Russia and Ukraine are "very close to a deal" and he urged the two sides to meet at "very high levels" to "finish it off".

Last year Trump promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war in a day, however in an interview to TIME magazine he said it was an "exaggeration".