Trump met Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of funeral of Pope Francis
President Trump and Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy met privately ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis and “had a very productive discussion,” the White House said Saturday.
A spokesman for Ukraine’s government called the meeting “constructive” and said the two leaders were working to arrange another. In a statement on social media, Zelenskyy said it was a “good meeting.”
“We discussed a lot one on one,” Zelenskyy said. “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 @POTUS.”
Ukraine’s presidential press service released images of the meeting, as well as an image of a meeting between Mr. Trump, Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Ukraine Presidential Office handout
Hours after his meeting with Zelenskyy, Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he doubts Russian President Vladimir Putin’s willingness to end the war in Ukraine.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” he wrote in the post. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
Mr. Trump is trying to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after first sending troops into eastern Ukraine in 2014.
After their brief meeting on Saturday, Zelenskyy’s office said the U.S. and Ukrainian teams were making arrangements for the leaders to talk again that day. But Trump went directly to the Rome airport after the funeral and boarded Air Force One for the 10-hour flight back to the United States.
Zelenskyy’s spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov, said Trump and Zelenskyy did not meet again in person because of their tight schedules.
Mr. Trump on Saturday was among more than 50 heads of state and other dignitaries attending the funeral of Pope Francis, where he was personally paying his respects to the Roman Catholic leader who pointedly disagreed with him on a variety of issues.
He also briefly met Britain’s Prince William, CBS News partner network BBC News reported.
Trump arrived at the Vatican with his wife, first lady Melania Trump. When Zelenskyy arrived for the ceremony, the gathered crowd broke out in applause.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS 
Mr. Trump told reporters on Friday as he flew to Rome that he was going to the funeral “out of respect” for the pontiff, who died Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88.
Francis sharply disagreed with Mr. Trump’s approach on issues including immigration, the treatment of migrants and climate change. The Argentine pontiff and the American president sparred early in their relationship over immigration. In 2016, Francis, alluding to then-candidate Trump and his campaign slogan of “Build the wall,” called anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants ” not Christian.” Mr. Trump said the comment was “disgraceful.”
But after Francis’ death, the Republican president praised him as a “good man” who “worked hard” and “loved the world.” Mr. Trump also directed that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff in Francis’ honor.
Nathan Howard / REUTERS 
Mr. Trump had said on a couple of occasions before leaving Washington that he would have “a lot” of meetings with counterparts on the sidelines of the funeral. But he seemed to back away from that as he flew to Rome.
“Frankly, it’s a little disrespectful to have meetings when you’re at the funeral of a pope,” the president told reporters accompanying him aboard Air Force One. Nonetheless, Mr. Trump said, “I’ll be talking to people. I’ll be seeing a lot of people.”
Mr. Trump didn’t elaborate when asked if he’d just be meeting leaders in passing or holding more in-depth talks. He suggested he might have meetings at Villa Taverna, the U.S. ambassador’s residence, where he spent the night.
“It’s a little tough because we don’t have much time,” Mr. Trump said, noting his late arrival in Rome. He was scheduled to head back to the United States immediately after the funeral.
“I think that we’re going to try and see a couple of people that are important in what we’re doing,” said Mr. Trump, who is trying to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and negotiate trade agreements with multiple countries.
He posted on Truth Social shortly after arriving in Rome that Ukraine and Russia should meet for “very high level talks” on ending the bloody three-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin earlier Friday, and Trump said both sides were “very close to a deal.”
Zelenskyy arrived in Rome on Saturday to attend the funeral, joining Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska. Putin did not attend.
Aaron Navarro and
Haley Ott
contributed to this report.
Source: cbsnews.com