Trump-Zelensky meeting productive, says White House

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met briefly at Pope Francis' funeral on April 26, Kyiv said, marking their first encounter since a disastrous White House clash as the US leader pushes him to make a peace deal with Russia.

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KYIV -

Mr Trump was rubbing shoulders with dozens of world leaders at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City keen to bend his ear on the tariffs he has unleashed and other subjects.

But it was the meeting with Mr Zelensky that drew the most interest, as the US leader pushes the Ukrainian to make a peace deal with Russia.

The two leaders met briefly on the sidelines of the funeral before it started, a spokesman for the Ukrainian presidency said.

"The meeting took place and is already over," Mr Zelensky's spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov told journalists without providing further details.

Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky, both accompanied by their wives, sat in the front row of the funeral in St Peter's Square but were separated by nearly a dozen leaders. Mr Zelensky glanced Mr Trump's way, but they were not seen to meet in public.