President Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Saturday morning at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City prior to attending Pope Francis’s funeral.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump joined dozens of leaders from around the globe who flocked to the Vatican on Saturday to pay their respects to the Pope after his death at 88 years old earlier in the week.
Here’s a brief clip of the exchange between Trump and Zelensky:
Macron sought to join Trump’s impromptu meeting with Zelensky but was not invited. pic.twitter.com/4MNMBB69o6
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 26, 2025
Details on the meeting were not provided, but according to Fox, a White House spokesperson described the meeting as “very productive.”
Zelensky posted on X, indicating they will soon achieve “Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out.”
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 become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you.
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
This is the first meeting between Trump and Zelensky since their showdown in the Oval Office in February, where Zelensky sabotaged peace negotiations with President Trump by disrespecting him in the Oval Office and reneging on a pre-agreed-upon peace deal.
Ukraine had previously approved Trump’s requested mineral rights deal with the US to compensate Americans for the hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money Joe Biden gave them over the last four years, but the agreement was not formalized. Then, Zelensky was kicked out of the White House after the heated exchange.
The President has recently slammed Zelensky and Putin over the continued fighting.
Zelensky declared on Tuesday that Ukraine will not recognize Russia’s occupation of Crimea, a statement that President Trump slammed on Wednesday morning as “very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama.”
On Thursday, the President also publicly rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin over missile strikes on Kyiv, which he decried as “not necessary and very bad timing.”
President Trump recently indicated that peace is on the horizon as he thinks both countries are ready to make a deal.
