Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his meeting with Donald Trump ahead of the Pope's funeral could prove to be "historic" if it leads to peace in his country's war with Russia.

The US and Ukrainian presidents had a "very productive discussion", according to a White House official, in their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.

Pictures show they met one-on-one inside St Peter's Basilica, sitting opposite each other, around two feet apart, as they leaned forward to talk in a large marble hall.

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Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump that could turn out to be "historic", in a post on social media platform Telegram.

He said they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.

Other images released by the Ukrainian president's office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as "positive" by the French presidency.

Mr Zelenskyy's spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.

But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral of Pope Francis without any other talks having taken place.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said "there was no reason" for Russian President Vladimir Putin "to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days".

He added: "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?' Too many people are dying!!!"

The Ukrainian president's office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.

There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter's Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff's coffin to pay his respects.

Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the "biggest possible meeting" between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.

He told Sky News it could mark "an important step" in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.

Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called "Pope Francis's miracle" by members of the clergy, adding: "There's so many things that happened today - it was just overwhelming."

The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump's peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.

They discussed "the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine", Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

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Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is "very close" and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to "get it done" in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Meanwhile, the Polish armed forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening.

"The nature of the incident indicates that Russia is testing the readiness of our air defence systems," they said in a post on X.

(c) Sky News 2025: Trump and Zelenskyy hold potentially 'historic' meeting ahead of Pope's funeral