Overview

• Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met privately for 15 minutes in St. Peter’s Basilica before Pope Francis's funeral, marking their first in-person meeting since February's tense Oval Office encounter.
• The White House described the meeting as 'very productive,' while Zelenskyy called it 'symbolic' with the potential to yield significant results if joint agreements are reached.
• Discussions focused on achieving a full and unconditional ceasefire and establishing a lasting peace, though no concrete agreements were announced.
• Key disagreements persist, particularly over U.S. proposals to recognize Crimea as Russian territory, a stance Ukraine and its European allies firmly oppose.
• Hours after the meeting, Trump criticized Vladimir Putin for prolonging the conflict and hinted at imposing secondary sanctions on Russia to push for progress in peace talks.