Pope Leo will be in charge of the Catholic Church at his first Mass
Vice President JD Vance had seen Pope Leo XIV formally envision his role as leader of the Catholic Church’s St. Peter’s Square.
Vice President JD Vance met with Rome Ukrainian President Voldy Mie Zelensky and after previous spitting in the oval office, he worked towards a peace agreement to end the Ukrainian war with Russia.
Zelenskyy and Vance, who clashed at the White House in February, met after Pope Leo XIV’s Mass on May 18th. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attended the meeting.
“The leaders discussed their common goal of ending bloodshed in Ukraine and provided an update on the current state of negotiations for ceasefires and lasting peace,” the Vice President’s office said in a statement.
Zelenskyy said it was a “good” meeting, and that Vance accused him of being “disrespectful” and that when their argument exploded from there, and Trump jumped in to berate the Ukrainian leaders, it was a “good” meeting.
“We reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to engage in true diplomacy and emphasized the importance of a complete and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” the Ukrainian leader wrote about the discussion with Vance on May 18th.
The meeting came before Trump’s planned calls with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 19th. Trump met Zelensky at Pope Francis’ funeral in April.
Trump has put pressure on both sides to accept a ceasefire and peace agreement to end the war that began in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Zelenskyy supports a 30-day ceasefire, but Putin said he hopes to have discussions to confirm details of the ceasefire first.
Ukraine and Russia negotiated in Türkiye, which concluded on May 16th. It was the first time the two had engaged in consultations since the early weeks of the war. They agreed to the prisoners’ exchange and continued their argument.
Putin sent a team of negotiators upstairs to peace negotiations, driving the challenge of meeting Zelensky’s challenge in person. Trump told reporters last week he didn’t expect any progress in peace negotiations until “Putin and I gather together.”
After leaning heavily towards Ukraine and joining Vance to clash with Zelensky at an oval office meeting in February, Trump has been increasingly impatience with Putin in recent weeks, threatening additional sanctions against Russia.
Former Vice President Mike Pence told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview aired on May 18 that Putin only understands strength and that it’s time for Trump to become tough with Russia.
“President Zelensky agrees to a ceasefire…and Vladimir Putin calls a meeting where he will not appear,” Pence said. “So I’m honestly saying it’s time for President Trump to impose harsh sanctions on Russia and increase military support for Ukraine.”
While in Rome, Vance and Rubio also met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission’s Ursula von der Reyen, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. They discussed the issue of trade as the Trump administration threatens mutual tariffs in several countries.
Contribution: Reuters
