The last time Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was in the same room with US President Donald Trump, it didn’t go so well. That was scene of the February 28 fireworks in Oval Office (see below), also involving Vice President JD Vance. Since then, US-Ukraine relations have been very strained, and Trump had even briefly halted the flow of weapons to Ukrainian forces.

Zelensky would like to try again, at a moment he’s not happy the US and Russia are engaged in ongoing bilateral talks with the purpose of diplomatic normalization and achieving resolution to the Ukraine war. Zelensky on Tuesday made clear that he would like to meet Trump in the Vatican on Saturday where global leaders will attend the funeral of Pope Francis, who died in the early hours of Monday.

“Yes, I would like to, I am ready. We are always ready to meet with our partners from the United States,” Zelensky said in answering a journalist’s question on whether he hopes to meet Trump and the funeral ceremonies.

And a Vatican statement has indicated the two leaders are likely to sit near each other, up at the front of the proceedings.

“We expect the world leaders coming for the papal funeral, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, will be seated in the front row or towards the front of the funeral in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday morning. We might see some images of the world leaders greeting each other. The ceremony will be solemn,” it stated.

Trump just before this last weekend warned he’s ready to walk away from efforts to forge a peace deal if progress is not quickly made, and that’s when Putin unveiled his 30-hour Easter truce.

This week much discussion has reportedly focused on Crimea, with the US being open to giving formal recognition of Russia’s hold over the peninsula. But this has been another source of tension, as Zelensky has already rejected this.

If Trump and Zelensky do meet, it could be just brief and informal, or else they could set up a meeting on the sidelines while in Rome. According to more details of funeral preparations:

Francis’s coffin — which he previously ordered should be of wood and zinc — will then be taken inside the church and from there to Rome’s papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for burial. 

The funeral date was set by cardinals meeting in a so-called “general congregation”, the first of a series of meetings which will culminate in a conclave within three weeks, where a new pope will be elected.

Francis died in the Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lived during his 12-year papacy, and his body was laid out in its chapel on Monday evening.

The Pope during his pontificate frequently called for peace in Ukraine, but he also at times lashed out at the West and the arms industry for fueling the bloodshed.

Not very long ago, in late February, this scene played out at the White House…

— Wendy O (@CryptoWendyO) February 28, 2025

At the moment, at least 99.5% of Kursk territory is back in Russia’s control. Russia’s military also still continues to advance in remaining parts of Donetsk still held by Ukraine, but slowly and village by village.