Trump says Zelenskyy is 'calmer' after their 'beautiful' Vatican meeting

He rejected any bad blood between the two, despite their trainwreck dispute in the White House.

President Donald Trump said he viewed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "calmer" and more interested in reaching a peace accord following their sit-down inside the Vatican this weekend.

Trump called the meeting "beautiful" and said Zelenskyy asked for more weapons during the 15-minute session.

Trump continued voicing his frustration at President Vladimir Putin for launching a missile attack on Kyiv, and said he could not say for sure whether the Russian leader was serious about ending the war.

READ MORE: Donald Trump's approval at 100 days lower than any president in at least seven decades

"I think the meeting went well. We'll see what happens over the next few days. We'll probably learn a lot. I was very disappointed that missiles were flying by Russia," Trump said as he was departing New Jersey, where he spent part of the weekend at his golf club.

He said during his meeting at St Peter's with Zelenskyy they briefly discussed the issue of Crimea, which the US would recognise as Russian under an American peace proposal that Zelenskyy has rejected.

Trump denied his relationship with Zelenskyy was ever bad, saying instead their televised dispute in February was merely a small obstacle.

READ MORE: It might be Carney vs Poilievre to lead Canada, but Trump is unofficially on the ballot

TOPSHOT - In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on April 26, 2025, (L-R) France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump speak with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / UKRAINIAN PRPresident Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport, Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Morristown, N.J. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"I see him as calmer. I think he understands the picture. And I think he wants to make a deal," Trump said.

Putin, he said, needed to demonstrate a commitment to ending the war.

"I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal," Trump said. "We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it and be done with it and just go back to life."

More from Latest News