White House says Trump, Zelensky had 'very productive' meeting at pope's funeral

The White House said Saturday that US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky had a "very productive" meeting ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis. 

"President Trump and President Zelensky met privately today and had a very productive discussion," said White House communications director Steven Cheung. Earlier, the Ukrainian presidency announced that Zelensky and Trump met briefly on the sidelines of the funeral congregation. 

This comes after the White House earlier said that Kyiv and Moscow were "very close to a deal". "The meeting took place and is already over," Zelensky's spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov told journalists without elaborating. 

The positive update came in the backdrop of the infamous confrontation between Trump and Zelensky in the Oval Office in February when the Ukrainian president was on a US visit. The meeting had ended abruptly without a clear resolution. 

Trump implied Ukraine was to blame for the Russian invasion and called Zelensky a "dictator". The Ukrainian president sought strong security guarantees against future Russian aggression before committing to a ceasefire. 

Trump wanted an immediate halt to hostilities, while Zelensky believed that without security guarantees, Russia's president Vladimir Putin would break any agreement. 

The US also wanted Ukraine to agree to share revenue from its raw minerals. Zelensky's delegation opted for a mutually beneficial partnership providing security guarantees for Ukraine. 

The conversation turned hostile when Zelensky discussed the history of the Russo-Ukrainian War, and Trump interrupted, telling him, "You don't know that. Don't tell us what we're going to feel." 

Trump and Zelensky began speaking simultaneously, with Trump declaring, "We are going to feel very good and very strong... You don't have the cards right now." Zelensky asserted, "I'm not playing cards... I'm very serious... I'm the president in a war."