Vance & Zelensky Repair Relationship In ‘Good’ Vatican Meeting

Amid ongoing efforts to reset the relationship between Washington and Kiev, US Vice President JD Vance met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top aides in Rome on Sunday.

Crucially, this is the first time Zelensky and Vance have met since their blow-up in the White House in February. The pointed exchange had even led to Trump very briefly suspending weapons deliveries and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.

But both of them this weekend were in Rome for the newly installed Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration mass at the Vatican. Zelensky had also met with the Pope after the Sunday service at St. Peter’s.

As for the Zelensky-Vance encounter, the Ukrainian leader hailed that it was a “good meeting”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also present.

“We discussed the negotiations in Istanbul, where the Russians sent a low-level delegation with no decision-making authority,” Zelensky said.

“I reaffirmed Ukraine’s readiness for real diplomacy and stressed the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” he added.

“We also touched on the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, the situation on the battlefield, and the future exchange of prisoners. Pressure on Russia must continue until it is ready to stop the war,” Zelensky’s description of the meeting continued. “And, of course, we discussed our joint steps to achieve a just and sustainable peace.”

The Trump White House has indeed been dangling the prospect of more anti-Moscow sanctions, in the scenario that the US deems Putin’s engagement in peace negotiations insufficient. 

So far, Zelensky is trying to make the case that the Kremlin is just stringing Trump along, playing the peace game just enough to buy more time as it makes slow gains on the battlefield.

The Pope himself has meanwhile been urgently calling for peace in Ukraine, among other global hotspots. Interestingly, Washington could be eyeing Rome as a venue for more talks to achieve peace:

A day before the event, Rubio said that the Vatican could serve as a neutral venue for future peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.

Speaking in Rome before his meeting with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Vatican’s envoy on Ukraine, Rubio noted that “both sides would be comfortable” holding talks there.

Below: most analysts agree that the Istanbul talks resulted in no breakthrough, and that the process is still largely at a ‘stalled’ point.

This analysis captures the unfortunate result of the US letting Russia deflect the drive for a ceasefire. Tomorrow’s phone calls – Trump-Putin, Trump-Zelenskyy, & possibly Trump/Zelenskyy with key Europeans – could improve the trajectory, if the Trump pushes Putin. https://t.co/6n4yFVRC70

— Daniel Fried (@AmbDanFried) May 18, 2025

The pope last week appeared to be very open to this, telling an audience in some of his first public words since becoming Pontiff that he carries the “suffering of the beloved people of Ukraine” in his heart and called for an “authentic and lasting peace.”