Pope Francis has been hailed for his ‘final miracle’ after a meeting between the US President and Volodymyr Zelensky has seen Trump turn his back on Putin, as he accused the Kremlin leader of ‘stringing him along’ over peace talks. 

Ahead of the Catholic leader’s funeral today, Zelensky and Trump had a short talk ahead of the late Catholic leader’s funeral, marking their first encounter since their disastrous White House clash. 

Talks between the two world leaders are said to have been ‘very productive’ today, according to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, with Zelensky later taking to X echoing his hopes for ‘results’ on their discussions. 

‘Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out,’ he wrote: ‘Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.’

It comes amid tense discussions between the two countries as the US attempts broker a peace deal with Russia, with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff welcomed by Putin at the Kremlin earlier this week.

Following the pair’s meeting at the Vatican today, Donald Trump has since seemingly turned against Putin, as he accused the Russian leader of stringing him along over peace talks to bring the Russo-Ukraine conflict to an end. 

‘There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days.  It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently,’ Trump posted on Truth Social today.

Professor Father Francesco Giordano, who was present at the Pope’s funeral today hailed the move as the religious leader’s final miracle, describing the day as a ‘moving experience’.

President Donald Trump has for the first time doubted Vladimir Putin ‘s willingness to end the war in Ukraine that Russia began in February 2022 with an all-out invasion

His statement came the same day he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Vatican City while they were both at the funeral for Pope Francis

Trump apparently souring on Putin as a peace partner comes after he sent US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (pictured left) to broker an end to the war in Ukraine

‘It was also moving to see what they are now calling ‘Pope Francis’s miracle’ with Trump and Zelensky meeting, there’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming,’ he told Sky News. 

Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania, have since touched ground back in the US following Pope Francis’ historic funeral at the Vatican City earlier today, with the pair waving to onlookers. 

In his full statement on the social media website, Trump in a dramatic turn against the Kremlin, he suggested they had to deal ‘differently’ with the Kremlin’ either via ‘banking’ and ‘secondary sanctions.’ 

‘Too many people are dying!!!’ Trump wrote, referring to the Russian military strikes on Kyiv earlier this week which left 12 dead, and several building destroyed.

Further sanctions on Russia may be a possibility following a related bill received agreement from  25 Republicans and Democrats, respectively, in the Senate earlier this week.  

Trump’s suggestion that Putin doesn’t want the war to end came after the longtime Russian leader welcomed US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow. Witkoff was reportedly there to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.

However following these talks,  Zelensky doubled down on Crimea, rejecting any suggestion Ukraine will hand over the region to the Kremlin after a beaming Vladimir Putin welcomed Witkoff for peace talks. 

Earlier this week, a video published by Russian state media, showed Putin welcoming the US negotiator exchanging a few words in English before they discussed a peace plan for Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump waves to the cameras after he and Melania set foot on US soil

The pair shared a peck following their attendance at the Pope’s Funeral earlier today in the Vatican City

Donald Trump rests his hand on Melania’s arm as the alight the Air Force One at Newark

Putin, who is understood to be fluent in English, rarely speaks the language and has only done so on a few public occasions. The Kremlin later said they had been in talks of a ‘possibility’ of a direct ceasefire. 

The talks went ahead despite a Russian general being killed in a Moscow car bomb attack, with the country laying blame on Ukraine. In turn, Ukraine outraged by a Kremlin strike on Kyiv that left 12 dead.

However Ukraine remained fearful that Trump could force it to hand over Crimea – a Black Sea annexed seized by Russia in 2014 – with the US president previously asserting: ‘Crimea will stay with Russia’. 

But Zelensky has remained steadfast that the territory belongs to the Ukrainian people, asserting that their ‘position is unchanged’, later adding: ‘The constitution of Ukraine says that all the temporarily occupied territories… belong to Ukraine.’

Trump has remained clear on his desire to broker a truce between Moscow and Kyiv, but has failed to extract any major concessions from Putin despite several rounds of negotiation. 

He has threatened to walk away from talks if he does not see progress towards a ceasefire.

Witkoff and Putin’s meeting came just hours after a car exploded in the Moscow region, killing Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for what appeared to be a deliberate attack.

‘There are reasons to believe that Ukraine’s special services were involved in the murder,’ Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. Ukraine did not immediately comment.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Witkoff and Putin had held a ‘constructive’ conversation, including ‘a discussion on the possibility of renewing direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine’.

However, Trump’s recent statement comes after he took another swipe at the on Thursday after a drone attack on Kyiv killed at least 12 people, and posted on social media: ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ and added ‘Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!’

When asked how he would respond if Russia did not accept a deal, Trump said Thursday: ‘I won’t be happy, let me put it that way. Things will happen.’

However Trump has said at the time there had been significant progress in discussions for peace.

‘This next few days is going to be very important. Meetings are taking place right now,’ Trump told reporters on Thursday. ‘I think we’re going to make a deal … I think we’re getting very close.’

Trump and Zelensky’s meeting on February 28 in the Oval Office did not go as well as their second attempt in Rome on Saturday

Trump souring on Putin as a peace partner is a remarkable shift in tone since February, when he told reporters that Ukraine had three years to end the war.

‘You should have never started it,’ he said about Ukraine while US-led peace talks were happening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Days after those talks, which did not include Ukrainian negotiators, Trump invited Zelensky to the White House. Their meeting in the Oval Office devolved into a shouting match.

Zelensky angered Trump and Vice President Vance when he made a comment about the US having ‘a nice ocean’ separating it from conflict. 

‘First of all during the war, everybody has problems. Even you, but you have a nice ocean and don’t feel it now but you will feel it in the future.’

Trump jumped in to say, ‘Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel… You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel.’

‘You’re gambling with World War III,’ Trump bellowed at Zelensky at one point.

Trump and Vance repeatedly told Zelensky he wasn’t being grateful for the tens of billions of dollars in aid the US has supplied his country for the war effort.

After the disastrous showdown, Trump briefly paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine. This was lifted on March 11, when Kyiv agreed to a 30-day interim ceasefire with Russia that had been proposed by the US.