US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he plans to hold a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss how to stop the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. He’s then expected to speak with Zelenskyy and various NATO members.
The leaders of Germany, France and the UK, though, have requested a phone call with Trump on Sunday, and have yet to receive a response, according to a statement by the German government. Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump had agreed to a call.Also Read: Oil steadies after early drop with Ukraine, US outlook in focus
Vance and Zelenskyy earlier met for the first time since their White House spat in February, smiling and shaking hands at the Vatican as the Holy See celebrated the enthronement of Pope Leo XIV.
World leaders and other dignitaries descended on Rome over the weekend for the second time in a few weeks — this time to celebrate the first Mass of Leo XIV, who was chosen as pontiff this month — and it created an opportunity for impromptu diplomacy.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosted talks on Sunday with Vance and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Meloni had been pushing for a meeting between the head of the European Union’s executive arm and the US administration as a trade war looms, and their proximity on Sunday may have helped pave the way.
“What unites us is that we want to a just and lasting peace, and I know how much you are engaged in ending this war and I thank you for that,” von der Leyen said ahead of the meeting. “What is certainly important now is that we push that things are moving forward, and I think the next week will be crucial in this regard.”
Delegations from more than 100 countries were on hand at the Vatican. Zelenskyy was greeted by some applause as he arrived in St. Peter’s Square, and Leo was cheered as he took a popemobile tour through the piazza. Zelenskyy was seated at the Mass next to Von der Leyen, with Vance close by.
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Dollar, US stock futures weaker on US downgradeThe pontiff also met on Sunday with Ukraine’s leader. Leo will meet with Vance on Monday, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported, citing Vatican sources.
As the first US-born pope, 69-year-old Leo has so far focused his message on achieving peace in Ukraine and Gaza, signalling that he might continue — or expand — the geopolitical engagement of his predecessor, Pope Francis.
During the Mass, Leo vowed to work for a united church and a reconciled world. “We still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest,” he said during the Mass of Inauguration of his pontificate.
The pope mentioned “new hostilities” in Myanmar as well as the conflicts in Gaza, where “children, family and the elderly are reduced to starvation,” and Ukraine, which he said awaits “negotiations for a just and lasting peace.”
Televised Clash
Trump, Zelenskyy and Vance met at the White House in February, when they famously clashed over the future of peace in Ukraine in a televised meeting described as one of the worst diplomatic incidents in recent history.
During that meeting, Vance asked Zelenskyy if he had “ever said thank you once” for billions of dollars in aid delivered to the war-torn country by the US since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
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Trump and Zelenskyy met again in the Vatican last month at the funeral of Pope Francis, a brief discussion that the White House described as hopeful and Zelenskyy called “substantive.”
Negotiations in Istanbul last week between Ukrainian and Russian teams, the first face-to-face talks since early 2022, failed to yield a breakthrough on a potential ceasefire.
In an interview Friday on Fox News’s Special Report with Bret Baier, Trump suggested that a face-to-face meeting with Putin might be the only way to achieve a ceasefire. He also lashed out at Zelenskyy, repeating his claim that the Ukrainian leader doesn’t “have the cards” to hold off Russia.
