“President Trump and President Zelenskyy met privately today and had a very productive discussion,” said Steven Cheung, White House communications director. “More details about the meeting will follow,” he said.
Zelenskyy’s spokesman Sergii Nykyforov said the meeting took place in St. Peter’s Basilica and lasted about 15 minutes.
“The leaders agreed to continue the talks. The teams are working to organize a follow-up meeting,” perhaps just after the funeral, Nykyforov said.
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.
“Most of the major points are agreed to,” Trump said in his social media post shortly after arriving in Rome for the pope’s funeral. He urged the two sides to meet soon to “finish it off.”
Friday was a “good day” of negotiations between the U.S. and Russia, Trump said. The Kremlin described the talks as “constructive.” Ukraine was not represented at the Moscow meeting.
Trump warned recently that Washington could walk away from its efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal if the two sides do not show progress soon.
Pope Francis, who died on Monday, is having a state funeral at St. Peter’s Square in 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.