Among the many captivating visuals at the Vatican funeral of Pope Frances, was the one-on-one meeting of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump sitting knee-to-knee in an ornate marble floor side chamber of St.

Zelensky used the funeral of Pope Francis to launch a diplomatic blitz to head off a U.S. proposal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine on terms favorable to Moscow.

The United States has been pushing Ukraine to accept a peace plan that seems in part a gift to Moscow. But the short meeting of the leaders, and subsequent comments, appeared to be a change in tone.