A newly surfaced photo shows US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky together at the Vatican during the funeral of Pope Francis.
In a dramatic turn, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy crossed paths at the Vatican on Saturday, just ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony.
The two leaders, whose recent relationship has been strained, met briefly — a moment captured in a photograph now making rounds on social media.
The unexpected appearance of the two leaders at the solemn event has sparked global attention, marking a rare moment of public proximity between them amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
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The White House confirmed their meeting, describing it as “brief but respectful.” It comes just days after a sharp exchange between Trump and Zelenskyy during a media interaction in Washington DC, where tensions flared over a minerals agreement between the two countries.
Saturday’s meeting marked their first face-to-face interaction since that fallout, adding a layer of political intrigue to an already solemn day at the Vatican.
Zelenskyy’s spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov confirmed to journalists that “the meeting took place and is already over.”
This was the first in-person meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskyy since their tense clash in the Oval Office in February. According to the New York Post, the two leaders were not seated close to each other during the funeral, as the Vatican had arranged delegations in French alphabetical order.
Their earlier clash in February had turned ugly, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance reportedly shouting at Zelenskyy, accusing him of being insufficiently "thankful" for US support during Ukraine’s three-year-long war.
At the funeral in St. Peter’s Square, both Trump and Zelenskyy were seen accompanied by their wives. Although they sat in the front row, other world leaders were seated between them, keeping a visible distance.
Trump and Zelenskyy's latest image is already circulating widely on social media, raising questions about the nature of their interaction and whether any diplomatic discussions took place behind the scenes.
