Pope Francis funeral brings Trump and Zelensky together for first time since Oval Office blowout
President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were brought together for Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday for the first time since their explosive Oval Office clash nearly two months ago.The meeting followed a week of public attacks on Zelensky from Trump, who blamed him for holding up peace talks in its three-year war with Russia.Zelensky was unsure about attending the funeral until the last minute, saying on Friday that he might have to deal with matters related to Russia’s missile strike Thursday that killed 12 people and injured 87.Zelensky arrived in Rome with Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska on Saturday morning, according to the Kyiv Independent, citing the president’s spokesperson.Trump and first lady Melania arrived in Italy on Friday for their first international trip of his second term.Trump and Zelensky’s public appearance together in Rome comes after a tense week of stalled peace negotiations in the Russia-Ukraine war, which Trump blamed Zelensky for holding up.Zelensky pushed back on a framework presented by the US to negotiators in Paris last week that included granting Russia most of the Ukrainian territory it has captured over the last decade and squashed Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO.Ahead of a meeting Wednesday in London between the US and European leaders — which was expected to be a make-or-break moment in negotiations — Zelensky said in an interview that Ukraine would “not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff then canceled plans to attend the London talks, which ended without a deal.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted Zelensky for “trying to litigate this peace negotiation in the press” and said the president’s “frustration is growing.”Trump called Zelensky’s remarks “very harmful” to the peace negotiations and said they would only “prolong the ‘killing field.'”“It’s inflammatory statements lik...