ROME: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met briefly in the hush of St Peter’s basilica before Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday in their first encounter since a noisy White House clash and the US president later cast doubt on whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin wants a peace deal.

Zelensky said they discussed a possible unconditional ceasefire with Russia and was “hoping for results” from a “very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic”. After leaving Rome, Trump indicated a new approach to the Russian president.

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. “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!!!” The war cast a shadow over Francis’s funeral.

As it took place, Russia claimed its forces had “fully liberated” the border Kursk region. Ukraine insisted however that its army was still fighting in Kursk, Russian territory which it hopes to use as a bargaining chip in any future peace talks.

Trump and Zelensky sat face-to-face, leaning forward in deep discussion in a corner of the basilica, as the pope’s wooden coffin lay in front of the altar before the funeral began, according to images released by the Ukrainian presidency.

“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,” Zelensky wrote on X. An aide to Zelensky described the meeting as “constructive” and the White House called it “a very productive discussion”.

The US president flew out of Rome immediately after the funeral mass and there were no further talks. But the two leaders also briefly huddled inside the basilica with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron.

Macron’s office described the exchanges as “positive” and he later met Zelensky one-on-one. Britain said Starmer and Zelensky “discussed positive progress made in recent days” and agreed to “continue working intensively with international partners to drive forward the next stages of planning.”

In St Peter’s Square, Trump rubbed shoulders with several world leaders, many keen to raise the tariffs he has unleashed. But it was the meeting with Zelensky that drew the most interest as the US leader pushes for a peace deal.

Both sides had kept the prospects of a meeting vague ahead of the funeral with Trump saying only it was “possible”.

Tensions had been high since Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky in the Oval Office on Feb 28, calling him ungrateful for the billions of dollars of US military assistance given since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Trump, while calling on Putin to stop Russia’s attacks, has recently blamed Zelensky for the war and the continuing bloodshed. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022, triggering a conflict that has left tens of thousands dead.

Trump has pushed Zelensky to accept concessions such as acknowledging that Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014, will remain in Russian hands under any deal to stop the conflict.

After arriving in Rome, Trump said there had been progress in talks and pushed for the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to meet.

“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’,” he posted on his Truth Social platform. “Most of the major points are agreed to,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2025