Zelensky and Trump meet at St. Peter's Basilica before the Pope's funeral

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump meet with St Peter's Basilica before Pope Francis' funeral.

The White House described the 15-minute meeting as “very productive” and Zelensky later they managed to discuss a lot.

Trump and Zelensky were locked in in-depth discussions, minutes before Pope Francis' funeral began.

On Friday, the day after Trump said Russia and Ukraine were “very close to the deal”, his envoy Steve Witkov held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.

Andriy Yermak, director of the Ukrainian leader’s office, posted an image of Zelensky sitting with Trump while he added the word “constructive.”

The two leaders have since the violent Oval Office meeting at the White House in late February, when Trump told Zelensky that he had no victory, “You don't have a card.”

He repeated the message this week, saying Ukrainian leaders “have no cards to play”.

Images of two men show Trump wearing a blue suit and Zelensky wearing a black top and pants – the two men sit opposite each other for intense conversations and maintain serious expressions.

Another image released by the Ukrainian delegation from inside St. Peter shows the two men standing side by side with Sir Kyle Starmer and Sir Emmanuel Macron of France, his hands on Zelensky's shoulder.

This means that the Prime Minister and the French President helped unite the two against the gloomy backdrop of the Pope's funeral.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said more details about the private meeting of the Vatican city between Trump and Zelensky.

After the meeting, the two then walked down the steps of the cathedral and sat in the front seats.

During the service, Zelensky and Trump were short distances from each other, between Macron and other heads of state.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista, in his sympathy, talked about Pope Francis' constant appeal for peace. The Cardinal said, “'Building a bridge, not a wall, is his repeated advice.”

Ukrainian officials spoke of a possible second meeting, but Trump's convoy then immediately left St. Peter, whose plane left Rome shortly after.

Zelensky posted their “good meeting. We talked a lot one-on-one” on social media, adding that he hopes to achieve results for everything they say.

He said this was a “possibly a historic symbolic conference if we achieve joint results.”

Trump's envoy Witkoff left Moscow on Friday after his fourth visit early this year, after which the three-hour talks were later described as “very useful” by Putin Aide Yuri Yuri Ushakov.

Ushakov also added that it brought “Russia and the United States closer to the position, not only in Ukraine but also on a range of other international issues”, “specially discussing the possibility of direct negotiations between the representatives of Russia and Ukraine”.

Saturday’s meeting was the first time two leaders face to face after an unprecedented confrontation in the Oval Office.

During the intense exchanges, Trump accused the Ukrainian president of not “gambling with World War III” with the Washington-led ceasefire program.

Kiev has been part of an agreement to end the war with Moscow, and Trump is under increasing pressure to accept territorial concessions.

The concessions will reportedly include the abandonment of most of the land, including the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Zelensky has rejected this idea several times in the past. He advised the BBC on Friday that “a full and unconditional ceasefire opens up the possibility of discussing everything.