Ukraine ‘pressuring’ Italy for sideline summit at Pope’s funeral – media

Numerous international dignitaries, including US President Donald Trump, are planning to attend the ceremony at the Vatican

Kiev is reportedly “pressuring” Rome to organize a mini-summit on the Ukraine conflict on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral this week.

Around 140 delegations are expected at the Vatican on Saturday morning to pay their final respects to the late pontiff, who passed away on Monday. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky will be in attendance, as will US President Donald Trump.

Diplomatic sources cited by Lа Repubblica on Friday said Trump may hold a few informal bilateral meetings in Rome, potentially including with Zelensky. Meanwhile, Kiev is advocating for a broader multilateral gathering involving European NATO members to be held in Italy, putting the Ukrainian delegation “in front of the USA, Italy, France, Great Britain and probably also Germany.”

However, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is hesitant to facilitate such a gathering, fearing that the country’s reputation as a host could suffer from its likely failure, the outlet noted. Sources described the situation as “fluid.”

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This month, American officials outlined a potential framework for a truce that they believe Moscow could accept. However, Ukraine reportedly rejected key aspects of it, and in collaboration with European backers, proposed an alternative plan this week.

Trump has accused Zelensky of undermining the peace process with public remarks that directly contradicted the ideas his administration reportedly included in its proposal.

A Trump-Zelensky meeting at the White House in late February ended in a diplomatic spat when the Ukrainian leader openly questioned Washington’s approach to mediating the conflict. Vice President J.D. Vance, who was present at the scene, admonished Zelensky for what he perceived as ingratitude and disrespect.

Lа Repubblica noted that, due to the Vatican’s arrangements for the various delegations, Zelensky will be seated “very, very far away” from Trump during the funeral ceremony.