Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a 'very productive discussion' ahead of Pope Francis' funeral in Rome today (26 April).
The two leaders are said to have finally found some common ground after navigating quite the stormy period as of late, which plunged peace talks over Russia's invasion of Ukraine into crisis.
Relations between the US and Ukraine were tense, to say the least, in wake of the now infamous White House showdown between the presidents back in February.
Trump even suspended military aid to the war-torn country after locking horns with Zelenskyy, although it was promptly reinstated after delegations managed to iron out the political mess.
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But the commander-in-chief seemed to still have an axe to grind with the Ukrainian leader earlier this week, as he accused Zelenskyy of 'prolonging' the war by preventing the progress of peace negotiations.
However, the pair now seem to have finally gotten back on the right track, as they sat down together for a makeshift meeting in Saint Peter’s Basilica before Pope Francis' funeral got underway today.
It was the first time the duo have met since coming to verbal blows in the Oval Office eight weeks ago.
Andriy Yermak, who heads up Zelenskyy's office, shared an image of the two men sat on chairs - in scenes which suggest the encounter was impromptu rather than planned.
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Trump and Zelenskyy appeared to be engrossed in conversation in the snap, which was uploaded to X alongside emojis of the US and Ukrainian flags, as well as a handshake emoji.
Yermak also cryptically captioned the post: "Structurally."
The leaders are said to have had a 'very productive discussion' during the quick sit down before the pontiff's final farewell, a White House official told Sky News.
They also both reportedly agreed to hold further talks following the service for the 88-year-old, who passed away on Easter Monday.
Before leaving Washington to fly to Italy for the funeral, Trump said of Pope Francis: "[He] loved the world, actually, and he was just a good man. I thought he was a fantastic kind of a guy."
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However, Trump was accused of operating in poor taste after he went on to discuss how the funeral would give him the opportunity to 'meet with a lot' of other world leaders.
"It's going to be very interesting," he told MSNBC. "We're going to meet with a lot of the foreign leaders, they want to meet.
"Trade deals are going very well. I think Russia and Ukraine, I think they are coming along, we hope, very fragile. And Iran I think is going very well. We'll see what happens. We're working on plenty of things."
Although a lot of people were of the opinion that politics shouldn't be discussed during the Pope's funeral, Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, pointed out it was an unmissable opportunity for the pair.
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He told Sky that it presented the chance for the 'biggest possible meeting' between them to take place, which would mark an 'important step' in getting a peace deal sorted out.
Trump has already managed to attract attention away from the service for Pope Francis due to his choice of attire for the funeral.
Topics: Pope Francis, Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Politics, World News, Russia, Ukraine
Olivia Burke