Zelenskyy meets Trump in Rome hours after US president said Ukraine, Russia ‘close’ to peace deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US President Donald Trump in Rome as the two leaders attended Pope Francis’ funeral.

“The meeting took place and is already over,” Zelensky’s spokesman, Sergiy Nykyforov, told journalists without elaborating.

The White House said, “President Trump and President Zelensky met privately today and had a very productive discussion.”

This comes hours after Trump said Russia and Ukraine are “very close” to a ceasefire deal, adding that the two sides should hold a high-level meeting to “finish it off”.

This was the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after their altercation at the White House in February that brought their discussions to an abrupt end.

The US president’s comments came just days after he threatened to abandon a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress. This follows Trump urging Russia to “STOP” after one of its deadliest strikes on Kyiv.

When asked how he would respond if Russia did not accept a deal, Trump said: “I won’t be happy, let me put it that way. Things will happen.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his refusal to give up Crimea, and the talks between Putin and US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff took place shortly after a top Russian general was killed in a car bomb attack outside Moscow.

Additionally, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov mentioned that US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin had a “constructive” conversation, which included “a discussion on the possibility of renewing direct negotiations” between Kyiv and Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told CBS that Moscow is “ready to reach a deal” but noted that there are “details” that need to be addressed.

The United States has not disclosed details of its peace plan but has suggested freezing the front line and accepting Russian control of Crimea in exchange for peace.

With inputs from agencies