“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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.