Trump and Zelensky hold a "very productive conversation" before Pope Francis' funeral.

BarcelonaOne of the most anticipated images of the Vatican ceremony this Saturday was that of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking face to face for the first time since the their eventful meeting at the White House in late FebruaryThe image has finally emerged just after Pope Francis' funeral, a historic image in which they appear seated face to face on two chairs in a room of St. Peter's Basilica. Less than an hour into the ceremony, it had already been made public that Trump and Zelensky had met briefly just before the service began. The meeting reportedly lasted fifteen minutes, and initially it was said that both countries were working to meet again this Saturday in Rome, but shortly before 2 p.m., Donald Trump had already boarded his plane to leave Italy.

In a message on social media after the funeral, Zelensky himself stressed that his meeting with Trump had been "a very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic if we achieve joint results." "Thank you, President Donald Trump!" concludes the Ukrainian president's message, which also called for "a complete and unconditional ceasefire" and "a reliable and lasting peace that prevents a recurrence of war."

The meeting had been initially announced by the Ukrainian president's spokesman, Serhi Nikiforov, and by White House communications director Steven Cheung, who assured that Trump and Zelensky had "a very productive conversation." The meeting comes the day after Trump's draft proposal for peace negotiations was leaked, a plan that presents a much more acceptable scenario for Vladimir Putin than for Zelensky, since Russia would maintain control over all the territories it has occupied.

Calls for peace and against "the pain of war" were very present this Saturday at the funeral ceremony of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The homilies of the ceremony, the dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, recalled the late pontiff's struggle to end armed conflicts, in a clear allusion to both the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. Battista Re's speech, in fact, contained a strong political message: he recalled Francis's own calls to "build bridges, not walls," a reference the late pontiff had made to Donald Trump on several occasions and which was greeted with a standing ovation by the audience gathered in Piazza Sant Pere. References to Francis's struggle for "migrants and refugees," with his first official trip to Lampedusa, were also widely applauded. The cardinal also recalled the late pontiff's staunch defense of the most marginalized groups and the fight against climate change.

But beyond the speeches, the final farewell to the reformist pontiff also paved the way for a new step towards peace negotiations, as it allowed Zelensky and Trump to meet for the first time since their controversial meeting at the White House on February 28. In the images released after the funeral, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were also seen with Trump and Zelensky inside the basilica.

Applause for Zelensky upon his arrival at Sant Pere Square

Zelensky, who abandoned his military-green T-shirt for a day to comply with Vatican protocol, was greeted with applause by the faithful present in Sant Pere Square when he appeared on the screens. The Ukrainian president didn't wear a tie, but did wear a black jacket, a cross between a blazer and a military uniform. Donald Trump, however, broke protocol by opting for navy blue instead of the traditional black worn by all civilian guests at the ceremony. Both leaders were seated in the front row of the officials' area, but at opposite ends.

Trump and Macron make peace

During the funeral Mass, the moment of peace also saw the handshake between Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, along with other heads of state such as Spanish King Felipe VI, who were seated nearby. Pope Francis's funeral has, in fact, become almost a political summit, with the presence of up to 130 government delegations from around the world, around fifty heads of state, and a dozen monarchs. The numbers were considerably higher than those for Pope Benedict XVI's funeral in 2023, but similar, and perhaps even somewhat lower, than those for Pope John Paul II's farewell in 2005. Among the notable absentees this time was Russian President Vladimir Putin, who likely wanted to avoid the arrest warrant. All the officials were seated to the right of the pontiff's coffin, facing St. Peter's Basilica, arranged in alphabetical order by the country's name in French, placing the United States close to Spain and France but far from Ukraine.

Those closest to the coffin were the President of Argentina, Javier Milei, representing Pope Francis's native country; the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni; and the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella. Behind the scenes at the ceremony, Trump also met briefly with the outgoing Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, according to White House sources. Other leaders present included British Prime Minister Keir Starmer; Prince William of England; Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; the President of the European Council, António Costa; and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, among others. Also surprising among the general public was the presence of activist and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who attended the funeral with his wife, as she herself posted on social media.

In recent hours, Trump said Russia and Ukraine are "very close to a ceasefire agreement."But he also stated that Crimea "will remain in Russia," a point that did not please Zelensky at all. In an interview with the magazine TimeThe US president has directly stated that "Crimea will be Russian" and that "Zelensky understands that." Regarding the remaining occupied territories, the US plan published by Reuters recognizes de facto Russian dominance up to the front line, which covers a fifth of Ukraine. In return, Putin would waive his claim to the unconquered areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia provinces and withdraw from the Kharkiv region. He would also be required to return control of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which would remain on Ukrainian territory but under US administration, reports Albert Sort.