 "Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump appear at a meeting, while they attend the funeral of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)")
In what has been called the final miracle by Pope Francis, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican City.
This was their first meeting since the disaster at the White House in February when Trump and his deputy, JD Vance, took turns to berate Zelenskyy. The two meetings could not have been more different.
Under the vaulted ceiling of St Peter’s Basilica at Vatican, Trump and Zelenskyy sat knee-to-knee and discussed the ongoing war. In what may very well be a heavenly miracle, Trump wondered in a social media post after the meeting whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin is playing him and threatened sanctions.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. 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!” said Trump in a post on Truth Social.
Zelenskyy said that it was the “most positive conversation” that he had ever had with Trump.
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While both the sides had wanted the leaders to meet at the Vatican, where they were attending the funeral of Francis, the meeting was not certain until it happened. Media reports have said that European leaders, chiefly French President Emmanuel Macron, also facilitated the meeting.
The inside story of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
The meeting was such that Zelenskyy later described it in a post on X as having the “potential to become historic”.
How the meeting came to take place is no less extraordinary, according to the insider account published by The Daily Telegraph.
In what may appear like a surprise considering his friendly ties with Putin, it was Trump who had first sought a meeting, as per the newspaper.
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The two leaders met for around 15 minutes without any interpreters or aides.
The Americans “had wanted to do this”, one informed source told the newspaper.
A separate source was quoted as saying that Trump “feels almost a bit burned by Putin attacking civilians in Kyiv” that left “him looking a bit stupid”.
The French connection
Macron was among those European leaders who had been urging the two leaders to meet on the sidelines of Francis’ funeral, according to reports.
A source told The Telegraph that Macron had “encouraged President Trump to see Zelensky” and “Macron spoke to Zelensky beforehand to ensure that he spoke directly to Trump”.
Macron had encouraged “President Zelensky to speak directly to President Trump and reiterate his support for a ceasefire, and President Trump to increase the pressure on Russia”, as per the source.
Macron met the two leaders just before they sat down for their talks and held talks with Zelenskyy after the meeting as well.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who was walking along with Prince William in the area, also joined Macron, Zelenskyy, and Trump for a brief huddle before the two leaders sat down for talks. William had parted ways to allow Starmer to join the huddle. British royals do not publicly engage in politics or diplomacy.
However, the newspaper clarified that Starmer or the United Kingdom were not involved in organising the meeting.
It was France that “facilitated” the meeting and the Vatican that arranged the “logistics”, according to the newspaper.
The mystery of third chair
Initially, there were three chairs at the St Peter’s Basilica.
The third chair was later taken away and Trump and Zelenskyy held talks without any third person present.
The removal of the third chair led to speculation that it was for Macron but Trump had snubbed him and removed him from the talks.
However, sources have said that the third chair was for an interpreter, but the two leaders decided to talks by themselves. Even though English is not Zelenskyy’s first language and he speaks with a notable accent, he is fluent in the language and uses of often in public remarks.
“People have got their brains in a twist over the third chair. It was supposed to be for the interpreter but in the end it turned into a tête-à-tête. Macron saw Trump just before and also saw Zelensky afterwards," a source told The Telegraph.
The CNN also reported that the third chair was for an interpreter but was removed as the two leaders decided to hold talks by themselves.