Overview
- The two met privately for roughly half an hour at Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo and briefly greeted press from the balcony without speaking.
- The Vatican Press Office said the Pope urged continued dialogue and voiced hope current diplomatic efforts could produce a just and durable settlement.
- Zelensky said Ukraine will transmit to the United States today an EU-coordinated proposal reduced to 20 points from 28 with elements he called anti‑Ukrainian removed.
- Humanitarian priorities in the discussion included prisoners of war and ensuring the return of Ukrainian children to their families, areas tied to Cardinal Matteo Zuppi’s envoy work.
- Zelensky’s Rome schedule includes a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Palazzo Chigi, following the Pope’s recent suggestion that Italy could help pursue a solution.