The prime minister was joined by the Prince of Wales for the Pope’s funeral in St Peter’s Square on Saturday
Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to “maintain momentum and continue working intensively” on efforts to end the war in Ukraine when they met in Rome after the Pope’s funeral. The leaders discussed the “positive progress made in recent days” towards securing a peace deal, Downing Street said.
The prime minister was joined by the Prince of Wales for the Pope’s funeral in St Peter’s Square on Saturday. Before the service, Starmer, US President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron were pictured speaking in a huddle inside St Peter’s Basilica. Starmer and Zelensky “discussed positive progress made in recent days to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine”, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“They agreed to maintain momentum and continue working intensively with international partners to drive forward the next stages of planning.” It is understood they had a 15-minute one-to-one meeting as they walked around the gardens of the Ambassador’s residence after the Pope’s funeral. Their delegations then had a further meeting lasting around 20 mins.
Zelensky and Trump had a 15-minute one-to-one meeting ahead of the service, a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin – as talks between the three nations over ending the war in Ukraine continue. The US and Ukrainian presidents were pictured locked in discussion while facing each other on a pair of red chairs against the ornate backdrop of the basilica.
Zelensky said following the funeral that the meeting with Trump had been “good” and “very symbolic” with the “potential to become historic”.
They were among 55 heads of state, 14 heads of government and 12 reigning monarchs who joined mourners for the open-air service in front of the basilica. Prince William, who was representing his father King Charles III, stood side by side with the prime minister for a moment of silence in front of Pope Francis’ coffin.
The prince, wearing a dark blue suit and black tie, clasped his hands as he solemnly bowed his head ahead of the funeral mass, before walking through the ornate St Peter’s Basilica to meet a member of the clergy and be guided to his seat. It marks his most significant duty so far as heir to the throne and is the first time the prince has represented the King – who is head of the Church of England – at an international funeral.
Prince William briefly spoke to Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on his way into the service, Kensington Palace said. He also spoke to Macron and his wife Brigitte.
During the service, the prince was seated in the third row next to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, while Jordan’s King Abdullah and Queen Rania were seated in the row in front of him.
The decision for the heir to the throne to attend a papal funeral is in keeping with modern tradition – after King Charles, while the Prince of Wales, attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005 on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Starmer was joined by his wife, Victoria, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Pope Francis died aged 88 on Easter Monday after suffering ill health following a bout of double pneumonia earlier in the year. The Vatican estimates that 250,000 people attended the Pope’s funeral in St Peter’s Square and the surrounding area.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump said the Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities “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, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?'”.
Trump had previously said Russia and Ukraine were “very close to a deal” following Friday’s three-hour talks between his envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president.
The Kremlin meanwhile said on Saturday that Putin had confirmed to Witkoff Russia’s readiness to enter into direct talks with Ukraine “without preconditions”. Trump and Zelensky’s sit down in Rome was the first time the leaders had come face-to-face since their White House meeting, when Trump told Zelensky “you don’t have the cards” and he was not winning against Russia.
He repeated that message this week, saying the Ukrainian leader had “no cards to play”. Trump has previously blamed Ukraine for starting the war and has accused Zelensky multiple times of being an obstacle to peace negotiations.
But the White House struck a more positive tone about Saturday’s meeting, while Zelensky described the sit down as a “very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results”.
Two images were released of the meeting, showing the US leader in a blue suit and Ukrainian president in a black top and trousers, sitting opposite each other in intense conversation.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also posted an image of the meeting on X with the caption: “No words are needed to describe the importance of this historic meeting. Two leaders working for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica.”
