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Trump and Zelensky meet at Pope Francis’ funeral: dialogue reopened

In Rome, the first face-to-face after the bitter clash in the Oval Office. On the table are peace talks and the American proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine

The meeting eventually took place. Described as ‘possible’ on the eve of the meeting by Donald Trump and remaining uncertain until the last minute due to Volodymyr Zelensky’s commitments in Kiev, the two leaders came face to face for about fifteen minutes in St Peter’s Basilica, just before the funeral of Pope Francis.

It was the first face-to-face confrontation since the clamorous quarrel in the Oval Office on 28 February last, which had opened a serious diplomatic crisis between the United States and Ukraine. Two months later, the climate appears more relaxed. Trump has posted several moments of the funeral on social media, including some shots of the dialogue with Zelensky, reiterating that an agreement on the war in Ukraine ‘is within reach’ and again urging Kiev to sign the rare earths agreement ‘immediately’.

While Trump continues in parallel with his attempt to rapprochement with Moscow – with envoy Steve Witkoff meeting Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Friday -, Zelensky emphasised the importance of the meeting, calling it ‘symbolic’ and potentially ‘historic’, stressing the urgency of ‘a comprehensive ceasefire and lasting peace’.

Prior to the bilateral talks, Trump and Zelensky had also exchanged a few words with Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. A curious episode saw Macron approach a possible tripartite table, which was then quickly abandoned.

The discussion between Trump and Zelensky was in the context of the recent American ‘final offer’ to end the conflict, which includes the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia – a proposal rejected by Kiev. According to the New York Times, Zelensky is said to have presented a counter-proposal supported by the UK, France and Germany: no restrictions on the Ukrainian army, deployment of European security forces and use of frozen Russian assets for reconstruction.

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