VATICAN CITY -U.S.PresidentDonaldTrumpand Ukrainian leader VolodymyrZelenskiy, inRomefor the funeral of Pope Francis, met one-on-one in a marble-lined Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to endRussia's war with Ukraine.
Zelenskiysaid themeetingcould prove historic if it delivers the kind of peace he is hoping for, and a White House spokesman called it "very productive".
The two leaders, leaning in close to each other with no aides around them while seated in St Peter's Basilica, spoke for about 15 minutes, according toZelenskiy's office, which also released photographs of themeeting.
Themeetingat the Vatican, their first since anangry encounter in the Oval Officein Washington in February, comes at acritical time in negotiationsaimed at bringing an end to fighting between Ukraine and Russia.
In a post on social media platform Telegram,Zelenskiywrote: "Goodmeeting. One-on-one, we managed to discussa lot. We hope for a result from all the things that were spoken about."
He said those topics included: "The protection of the lives of our people. A complete and unconditional ceasefire. A reliable and lasting peace that will prevent a recurrence of war."
Zelenskiyadded: "It was a very symbolicmeetingthat has the potential to become historic if we achieve joint results. Thank you,PresidentDonaldTrump!"
Steven Cheung, White House communications director, said the two leaders had met privately and had "a very productive discussion. More details about themeetingwill follow".
NO AIDES IN SIGHT
In one photograph released byZelenskiy's office, the Ukrainian andU.S. leaders sat opposite each other in a hall of the basilica, around two feet apart, and were leaning in towards each other in conversation. No aides could be seen in the image.
In a second photograph, from the same location,Zelenskiy,Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and FrenchPresidentEmmanuel Macron were shown standing in a tight huddle. Macron had his hand onZelenskiy's shoulder.
AfterTrumpandZelenskiymet in the basilica, the two men joined other world leaders outside in Saint Peter's Square at thefuneral service for Pope Francis, who made the pursuit of peace, including in Ukraine, a motif of his papacy.
Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who gave the sermon at the funeral service, recalled how Pope Francis did not stop raising his voice to call for negotiations to end conflicts.
"War always leaves the world worse than it was before: it is always a painful and tragic defeat for everyone," the cardinal said.
AZelenskiyspokesman had earlier said aides to the two leaders were working on arrangements for a follow-upmeetinginRomelater on Saturday. The spokesman subsequently said, afterTrump's aircraft took off fromRome, that the secondmeetingdid not happen, citing thepresidents' tight schedules.
DIFFERENCES OVER TERRITORY
Trump, who has been pressing both sides to agree a ceasefire, said on Friday that there had been productive talks between his envoy and theRussian leadership in Moscow, and called for a high-levelmeetingbetween Kyiv and Moscow to close a deal.
Trumphad previously warned his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
After a round of shuttle diplomacy this week, differences have emerged between the position of theTrumpWhite House on peace talks and the stance of Ukraine and its European allies, according todocuments from the talksobtained by Reuters.
Washington is proposing a legal recognition that Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, is Russian territory, something that Kyiv and its allies in Europe say is a red line they will not cross.
There are also differences on how quickly sanctions on Russia would be lifted if a peace deal was signed, what kind of security guarantees Ukraine would have, and how Ukraine would be financially compensated.
TrumpandZelenskiyhave had a rocky personal relationship. At their Oval Officemeeting,Trumpaccused the Ukrainian leader of "gambling with World War Three".
Since then, Kyiv has tried to repair relations, but the barbs have continued.Zelenskiyhas saidTrumpwas trapped in a "disinformation bubble" that favoured Moscow, while theU.S. leader accusedZelenskiyof foot-dragging on a peace deal and making "inflammatory" statements.
But the two men need each other.TrumprequiresZelenskiy's buy-in to achieve his stated ambition of bringing a swift peace between Russia and Ukraine, while Kyiv needsTrumpto pressure Moscow into diluting some of the more onerous conditions it has set for a truce.
At the Oval Officemeetingin February, a reporter who was present from a conservativeU.S. news network accusedZelenskiyof disrespecting the occasion by not wearing a suit.
Zelenskiy, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, has eschewed suits in favour of military-style attire, saying it is his way of showing solidarity with his countryman fighting to defend Ukraine.
InRomeon Saturday,Zelenskiyagain decided against a suit, and instead wore a dark shirt, buttoned up to the neck with no tie, and wore a dark military-style jacket over the top of that.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Angelo Amante; Additional reporting by Christian Lowe and Andrii Pryimachenko in Kyiv and Alistair Smout in London; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Alex Richardson and Alexandra Hudson)
