Zelensky and Trump meet inside St Peter’s Basilica

BBC:

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump have met inside St Peter’s Basilica ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral.

The White House described the 15-minute meeting as “very productive” and Zelensky said later they had managed to discuss a lot.

Trump and Zelensky were pictured sitting locked in deep discussion, minutes before Pope Francis’ funeral was due to start.

The meeting came a day after Trump said Russia and Ukraine were “very close to a deal”, following talks between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.

Posting an image of Zelensky sitting with Trump, the Ukrainian leader’s head of office Andriy Yermak added a single word, “constructive”.

The two leaders had not met since their tempestuous Oval Office meeting in the White House at the end of February, when Trump told Zelensky he was not winning and “you don’t have the cards”.

He repeated that message this week, saying the Ukrainian leader had “no cards to play”.

Two images of the men showed Trump in a blue suit, Zelensky wearing a black top and trousers – with the two men sitting opposite each other having an intense conversation and holding serious expressions.