Trump calls his meeting with Zelenskyy in Vatican 'moment of solace'
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump commented on his recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the events at the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican. The head of state described it as a moment of solace, according to Trump's interview with ABC News.
This is how the American leader responded to a request from correspondent Terry Moran to comment on the striking photograph that circled the globe, showing Trump and Zelenskyy in St. Peter's Basilica talking about peace.
"The moment was a moment of solace in a sense, because - tremendous numbers of people are dying. A lot of his people are dying," the US president replied.
Trump added, "They're being killed, and I feel very badly about it."
The one-on-one conversation between the presidents of Ukraine and the US in Italy on April 26 marked their first meeting since the disagreement in the Oval Office in Washington at the end of February.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at their meeting in St. Peter's Basilica on April 26 (photo: t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
The ABC News interviewer suggested that Trump seemed to have changed his stance on the intentions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, mentioning a post by the US president on social media after his conversation with Zelenskyy in St. Peter's Cathedral. In that post, the American leader criticized Russian shelling of Ukrainian cities and added that it makes me think that maybe he (Putin, ed.) doesn't want to stop the war.
Trump now agreed with the interviewer's assumption, stating, "It's possible. Yeah, that's possible. Sure."
However, the US president also emphasized that he still believes the Russian President allegedly wants peace and an end to the war against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy-Trump meeting in the Vatican
On April 26, the funeral of Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21, took place in the Vatican. The ceremony was attended by thousands of faithful and around 50 world leaders. During the event, a personal meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump also occurred.
Later, Zelenskyy shared details of his meeting with President Trump, calling it very symbolic.
Meanwhile, the White House stated that Trump and Zelenskyy held a productive meeting before the funeral of Pope Francis.
Additionally, RBC-Ukraine compiled all the information about the meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump in the article.
