Rome on Saturday : Trump, Zelensky meet at pope’s funeral in church corner, first time since White House clash

Rome: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met briefly in the hush of St Peter’s basilica on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday in their first encounter since a noisy White House clash, as the US president pushes the Ukrainian leader to make a peace deal with Russia.Zelensky said they discussed a possible unconditional ceasefire with Russia and was “hoping for results” from a “very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic”. Ukraine insisted, however, that its army was still fighting in Kursk, Russian territory which it hopes to use as a bargaining chip in any future peace talks. The Ukrainian presidency released photos of Trump and Zelensky sitting face to face, leaning forward in deep discussion in a corner of the basilica, as the pope’s simple wooden coffin lay in front of the altar before the funeral began.