Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said his brief meeting with President Trump in Vatican City was “good” and “symbolic,” as the U.S. continues to facilitate peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
“Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one,” Zelensky wrote on social platform X, just hours after the two met ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral. “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 added, sharing a photo of the two. “Thank you @POTUS.”
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, without providing more detail, also touted the exchange as “productive.”
The meeting marked the first one-on-one interaction between the two world leaders following a contentious meeting in the White House earlier this year. Trump has also railed against Zelensky in recent days, accusing him of waffling on a looming mineral deal, criticizing the Ukrainian leader for refusing to accept Crimea as Russian territory and blaming the war partially on Ukraine’s push to join the NATO security alliance.
In the wake of his harsh criticisms, Russia launched deadly drone strikes on Kyiv earlier this week — a move that left Trump questioning Putin’s endgame. He blasted the Russian president in a Thursday post on his Truth Social platform, calling the strikes “not necessary” and “very bad timing.”
On Saturday, the president upped the ante, acknowledging that the Russian leader could be “tapping him along.” The sentiment is a turn from what he said nearly a week earlier.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump posted online, while en route back to the U.S. from Rome.
He added, “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!!!”
