Italian
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met yesterday in Rome, at St. Peter’s Basilica, on the eve of Pope Francis’ funeral. It was their first direct conversation since the tense meeting in February at the White House.
VATICAN CITY. According to an official statement from the White House, the dialogue was defined as “very productive.” Zelensky, in a post on X, described the meeting as “symbolic” and stated that it could “become historic” if it leads to “concrete results.”
The meeting took place in the context of American diplomatic efforts to promote a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, more than three years after the beginning of the war.
The President has confirmed that his envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin in Moscow for three hours, discussing an American peace proposal. Trump stated that “most of the main points have been agreed upon” and invited Kyiv and Moscow to a meeting to sign a ceasefire.
However, strong divergences persist: drafts of peace plans, revealed by Reuters, indicate that the American proposal would allow Russia to keep the occupied territories, including Crimea, a condition unacceptable to Kyiv and several European countries.
Zelensky reiterated yesterday that “all temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” as established by the Ukrainian constitution.
Meanwhile, the fighting continues. Moscow has declared to have repelled Ukrainian forces from the Russian region of Kursk, a claim contested by Kyiv. Also on Friday, a Russian general was killed near Moscow by a car bomb.
The day before, Russia had carried out a massive missile attack on Ukraine, the most serious in recent months. Trump reacted on social media, writing: “I am not happy with the Russian attacks on Kyiv. Unnecessary and terrible timing. Vladimir, enough! 5,000 soldiers are dying every week. Let’s sign the peace agreement!”
The White House has warned that the peace talks remain “very fragile” and that, without concrete progress, the United States may suspend its mediation role.
