President Trump, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Hold Discussions Inside St Peter's Basilica

Addis Ababa, April 26, 20225 (ENA)— U.S. President Donald Trump AND Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have met inside St Peter's Basilica ahead of Pope Francis' funeral.

The White House described the 15-minute meeting as "very productive" and Zelenskyy later called it "very symbolic" with the "potential to become historic".

Trump and Zelenskyy 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.

President Trump and President Zelenskyy conferred privately today and had a very productive discussion.

More details about the meeting will follow,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said on Saturday.

Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, described the 15-minute meeting as “constructive”, but did not give more details.

The two leaders were in Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis. Their meeting comes as efforts to negotiate an end to the  Ukraine-Russia conflict face increasing challenges.