U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, met one-on-one in a marble-lined Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to end Russia's war with Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky said his meeting with Donald Trump on the fringes of the Pope’s funeral “has potential to become historic”. The Ukrainian president and his US counterpart met within St Peter’s Basilica after they each paid respects at Francis’ coffin.

The White House said their discussion was “very productive” and that more details would be released later. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican just before they took their seats for the outdoor funeral service. Zelenskyy said “good meeting” on social media after the funeral.