‘Maybe he doesn’t want to stop’: Trump questions Putin’s peace efforts

The surprise face-to-face meeting, held on simple red chairs in the nave of the church, was the first between Trump and Zelenskyy since their acrimonious row in the Oval Office in February. It comes amid suggestions a ceasefire deal is close.

Zelenskyy described their conversation as “potentially historic” and “very symbolic”. The White House said the 15-minute meeting was “very productive” after Zelenskyy thanked Trump for the talks, which came after recent tensions between Washington and Kyiv.

Trump’s comments about Putin represent a significant change in tone, and will spur hopes that the US President is willing to confront the Russian President over his refusal to agree to a ceasefire.

Trump has routinely blamed Zelenskyy for the fighting in Ukraine and last week heaped pressure on him to sacrifice territory to Russia to secure peace.

After the meeting in St Peter’s, the Ukrainian President said he and Trump had discussed a “full and unconditional ceasefire” and “reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out”.

He added: “We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered.”

Putin’s conditions

Putin has repeatedly insisted on various conditions, such as lifting Western sanctions, for ending hostilities and has been accused of breaking even partial truces.

The call for a reliable and lasting peace is a reference to Zelenskyy’s demands – backed by European leaders – to ensure that Kyiv is armed to the hilt to deter Russia from launching another invasion.

Zelenskyy said the meeting had the “potential to become historic” but only “if we achieve joint results”.

He made a point of thanking Trump, in a nod to criticism that he had not shown enough gratitude to Washington in the past.

Putin, meanwhile, claimed victory in Kursk on Saturday, saying that the last Ukrainian soldiers had been expelled from the Russian region, which Kyiv has denied.

The Kremlin said that Putin was ready to hold peace talks with Ukraine “without preconditions”.

Before the one-to-one, Zelenskyy had approached Sir Keir Starmer, who was talking with Emmanuel Macron and Trump in the 60,000-standing capacity Vatican City church.

‘Coalition of the willing’

The Prime Minister and French president have spearheaded the idea of a “coalition of the willing” prepared to police an eventual peace with troops on the ground in Ukraine.

The Telegraph reported on Friday that the US had privately offered to provide security guarantees for the plans after initially giving them a lukewarm reception.

It is understood the four leaders all spoke for a few minutes about moving forward with a peace deal before the one-on-one talks between Zelenskyy and Trump.

Video footage of the meeting showed Trump and Zelenskyy being shepherded by Vatican officials in black robes towards three chairs.

Macron was with the two men but, after talks between the trio, the third chair was removed to leave Trump and Zelenskyy alone to clear the air.

Images of the pair deep in conversation and facing each other amid the serenity of the Italian high renaissance church contrasted sharply with the televised chaos of their last meeting in Washington.

After the new meeting, Zelenskyy, dressed in black, took his seat in the front row at the funeral alongside other heads of state, including Trump and Macron.

Applause for Ukrainian president

The gathered faithful broke into spontaneous applause when Zelenskyy appeared shortly before the ceremony began about 8pm (NZT).

The Vatican had overturned its own protocol to ensure he had a place in the limelight, even though arcane rules that put leaders in order on the basis of their countries’ names in French dictated that he should have been seated further back.

During the funeral, leaders were encouraged to shake hands in the sign of peace used in the Catholic Mass, precipitating a scramble from those closest to the US President to shake his hand at the largest gathering of global heads of state since the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Trump shook hands with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, in their first face-to-face meeting since his re-election.

Macron and Finnish president Alexander Stubb were among those keen to shake Trump’s hand Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

After the ceremony, which reduced him to tears, Macron heaped pressure on Putin to agree to an unconditional ceasefire after what he said was a “very positive exchange” in a separate bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy.

The French President said: “Putting an end to the war in Ukraine. This is the objective we share in common with President Trump.

“Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire. President Zelensky reiterated this to me today. He wants to work alongside the Americans and Europeans to implement it.”

He added: “It is now up to President Putin to prove that he really wants peace.”

Hope remains for ceasefire

Macron said that the coalition of the willing would continue to work to “achieve both this ceasefire and a complete and lasting peace in Ukraine”.

Zelenskyy also held separate one-on-one talks with Sir Keir. Zelenskyy was greeted at the British ambassador’s residence in Rome by, in a rare public engagement, Lady Starmer.

The Prime Minister and Ukrainian President held a 15-minute one-to-one in the residence gardens before being joined by their officials for a further 25 minutes of discussions.

Both leaders spoke about the momentum coming out of the coalition of the willing talks in London earlier this week. It is understood the atmosphere was very positive about imminent progress and the White House wanting to engage with their plans.

Zelenskyy and Starmer met embassy staff in the garden, who cheered and applauded the Ukrainian leader. The two leaders agreed to “maintain momentum and continue working intensively”.

“We discussed very sensitive issues and the results of the London talks, but I’d prefer not to go into details,” Zelenskyy told reporters at the embassy.

It was a whirlwind day of diplomacy for Zelenskyy, who also met Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy.

Diplomacy at a funeral

Meloni has sought to position herself as a “bridge” between the US and Europe and is a staunch supporter of Ukraine, as well as an ally of Trump.

She stressed “the urgency of an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as well as the need for a concrete commitment by Moscow to launch a peace process”.

There had been hopes that “funeral diplomacy” could bring a breakthrough in ending the differences between Zelenskyy and Trump. However, the Telegraph understands the idea of the high-stakes meeting in the wings of the funeral initially caused unease among Macron and Sir Keir.

There were fears a row like the one played out in the Oval Office could be repeated in the Vatican, with tensions over the annexed region of Crimea still bubbling. Trump argues Ukraine should give up its claim to the territory.

First Lady’s birthday

European diplomats urged against too much optimism, warning that Trump could easily change his mind again.

“The half-life of Trump’s tweets is about 30 minutes,” one envoy told the Telegraph.

After the funeral, Trump met Meloni before leaving for the United States.

He boarded Air Force One almost an hour after the Pope was buried. He had earlier told reporters he would be wining and dining Melania Trump, the first lady, on board because it was her birthday.