Trump attends Pope Francis' funeral to meet Zelensky
pResident Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania, are key figures in attending the funeral of Pope Francis at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on Saturday, April 26. Trump died on April 21, following a series of complex health problems, and joined dozens of heads of state, with the leader of the Catholic Church who died on April 21.
But before putting his service seat, Trump had a brief meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Before the lawsuit begins, the two meet on the sidelines of the funeral. This is their first face-to-face meeting since the well-documented Oval Office showdown in February, where two world leaders clashed while discussing the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.
Trump-Zelensky sat down shortly after Trump's rare public condemnation of Russian President Vladmir Putin, who usually enjoys a strong relationship with him. On Thursday, April 24, Trump studied Russian leaders on his social media platform Real Society to fatally attack Kiev, Ukraine. He wrote: “I am not satisfied with Russia's strike against Kiev. It's not necessary and the timing is very bad. Vladimir, stop every week! 5,000 soldiers are dying. Let's complete the peace agreement!”
The conflict broke out despite Trump's previous statement that he would end the Ukrainian war on the first day of his second term in the White House. In a sit-down interview with time on April 22, Trump replied whether he thinks peace is possible if Putin remains Russian president.
“I think if (a) is likely (by chance), I might be with me as president,” Trump said. “If other people are presidents, there is no chance.”
Trump went on to say, “I believe I'm the only one who can negotiate this. And I think we're a long way. We've had a good conversation and we're very close to dealings. And I don't believe others can make a deal.”
Read more: Complete transcript of Donald Trump's interview with time
However, Trump returned to the truth within hours after the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, April 26, sharing a very different sentiment.
Trump expressed doubts Putin wanted to end the war in Ukraine and suggested sanctions against Russia.
“In the past few days, Putin has no reason to fire missiles at civilians, cities and towns,” Trump said. “It makes me think maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just poaching me and has to deal with it differently through 'banking' or 'secondary sanctions'? Too many people are dying!”