VOLODYMYR Zelensky has said his recent impromptu talk with Donald Trump at the Vatican was their most productive to date.
The face-to-face discussion took place after the two men flew to Rome last weekend for the funeral of 88-year-old Pope Francis who died on April 21.
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The Ukrainian President, 47, reportedly urged his US counterpart, 78, to return to his original proposal of an unconditional ceasefire as the starting point for peace talks.
Kyiv backs such a stance but it has been hobbled by Russia.
Mr Zelensky said that his 15-minute chat in Rome with Mr Trump was “perhaps the shortest, but the most substantive” the pair have had.
He told journalists: “With all due respect to our teams, the one-on-one format, in my opinion, worked.
“We had the right atmosphere for the conversation.”
Zelensky also said that he believes the meeting may have shifted Trump’s perspective.
He said: “I’m confident that after our meeting in the Vatican, President Trump began to look at things a bit differently. We will see.
“It’s his vision, his choice in any case.”
Mr Zelensky said previously that the signing of the US-Ukraine minerals deal — seen as beneficial to both sides — was the first concrete result of their April 26 conversation in Rome.
The meeting, described by Mr Zelensky as “historic”, was the first since their car crash White House encounter in February when he was berated for his “lack of gratitude for US support”.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin called a state of emergency after overnight Ukrainian strikes said to have included British Storm Shadow missiles.
Russia claimed it shot down eight during attacks on targets including the £3billion Crimean Bridge and Novorossiysk, a Black Sea port.