President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived for Pope Francis' funeral in Vatican City for Pope Francis' funeral, where the president also had a message for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Just landed in Rome. A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine. They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to 'finish it off,'" Trump posted to Truth Social on Friday night. "Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!"
The president in a separate Thursday post over Truth Social called for Putin to "STOP!" The post came after Russia launched a deadly attack against Kviv.
Saturday morning not only brought the pope's funeral, but also a meeting between Trump and Zelensky, who last met during a fiery White House exchange also involving Vice President JD Vance in February resulting in Zelensky being kicked out of the White House. Still, Trump has been working for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump also called Zelensky out in another Friday post for not signing the rare minerals deal with the United States. However, that post did also express hope for peace. "Hopefully, it will be signed IMMEDIATELY. Work on the overall Peace Deal between Russia and Ukraine is going smoothly," he posted in part. "SUCCESS seems to be in the future!"
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As The Hill reported about the Trump-Zelensky meeting, citing White House Communications Director Steven Cheung:
President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, both in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, held a “productive” meeting early Saturday as the U.S. looks to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
“President Trump and President Zelenskyy met privately today and had a very productive discussion,” White House communications director Steven Cheung shared Saturday. “More details about the meeting will follow.”
Trump has not posted to Truth Social since Friday night, but The White House X account has posted pictures of the president and first lady present for the funeral, as well as Trump and Zelensky sitting in chairs in St. Peter's Basilica to talk.
President Trump sat down to meet privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City this morning. pic.twitter.com/QChPiZRKzM
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 26, 2025
A post from Zelensky included more details, and a sense of optimism. "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," he wrote. He also thanked the president and tagged his official account.
Pope Francis' funeral has been trending over X on Saturday morning, with the Trump-Zelensky meeting a big part of that.
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
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