Pope Francis is being praised for a significant event termed as his ‘final miracle’ following a sharp change of heart by Donald Trump towards dictator Vladimir Putin today.
The President of the United States has accused the authoritarian Russian leader of deceiving him regarding peace talks in Ukraine. Trump’s anger intensified over Russia’s recent lethal missile attacks on Kyiv.
In a surprising development of events, the 78-year-old mogul welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warmly during a brief encounter in the Vatican before the burial of the former Pope.
It was first time the two world leaders had spoken to one another face to face since their disastrous White House clash earlier this year, which had threatened to destroy diplomatic relations between the US and Ukraine.
And now the encounter, followed by Trump’s furious outburst against Putin, has been celebrated as Pope Francis’ last ‘miracle’.
‘It was also moving to see what they are now calling ‘Pope Francis’s miracle’ with Trump and Zelensky meeting, there’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming,’ Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News.
Talks between the Ukrainian and American leaders were ‘very productive’, according to White House communications director Steven Cheung, with Zelensky later taking to X echoing his hopes for ‘results’ on their discussions.
‘Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out,’ he wrote: ‘Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.’
And later, in a furious broadside against Putin, Trump accused the Russian of trying to scupper peace talks with his repeated onslaught against Ukraine.
‘There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently,’ the American leader raged in a post on Truth Social today.
Trump – who has since landed back in America with his wife Melania, said the US had to deal ‘differently’ with the Kremlin’ either via ‘banking’ and ‘secondary sanctions.’
‘Too many people are dying!!!’ he wrote, referring to the Russian military strikes on Kyiv earlier this week which left 12 dead, and several building destroyed.
Further sanctions on Russia may be a possibility following a related bill received agreement from 25 Republicans and Democrats, respectively, in the Senate earlier this week.
Trump’s suggestion Putin doesn’t want the war to end came after the longtime Russian leader welcomed US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow. Witkoff was reportedly there to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.
However, following these talks, a defiant Zelensky doubled down on Crimea, rejecting any suggestion Ukraine will hand over the region to the Kremlin.
The territory was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 and Ukraine feared that America could strong-arm Ukraine into handing it over to the Kremlin as part of a peace deal.
But Zelensky has remained steadfast the territory belongs to the Ukrainian people, insisting their ‘position is unchanged’, adding: ‘The constitution of Ukraine says that all the temporarily occupied territories… belong to Ukraine.’
Earlier this week, a video published by Russian state media, showed Putin welcoming the US negotiator exchanging a few words in English before they discussed a peace plan for Ukraine.
Putin, who is understood to be fluent in English, rarely speaks the language and has only done so on a few public occasions. The Kremlin later said they had been in talks of a ‘possibility’ of a direct ceasefire.
The talks went ahead despite a Russian general being killed in a Moscow car bomb attack, with the country laying blame on Ukraine. In turn, Ukraine outraged by a Kremlin strike on Kyiv that left 12 dead.
Trump has remained clear on his desire to broker a truce between Moscow and Kyiv, but has failed to extract any major concessions from Putin despite several rounds of negotiation.
He has threatened to walk away from talks if he does not see progress towards a ceasefire.
Witkoff and Putin’s meeting came just hours after a car exploded in the Moscow region, killing Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik. Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for what appeared to be a deliberate attack.
‘There are reasons to believe that Ukraine’s special services were involved in the murder,’ Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. Ukraine did not immediately comment.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Witkoff and Putin had held a ‘constructive’ conversation, including ‘a discussion on the possibility of renewing direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine’.
However, Trump’s recent statement comes after he took another swipe at the on Thursday after a drone attack on Kyiv killed at least 12 people, and posted on social media: ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ and added ‘Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!’
When asked how he would respond if Russia did not accept a deal, Trump said Thursday: ‘I won’t be happy, let me put it that way. Things will happen.’
However Trump has said at the time there had been significant progress in discussions for peace.
‘This next few days is going to be very important. Meetings are taking place right now,’ Trump told reporters on Thursday. ‘I think we’re going to make a deal … I think we’re getting very close.’
Trump souring on Putin as a peace partner is a remarkable shift in tone since February, when he told reporters that Ukraine had three years to end the war.
‘You should have never started it,’ he said about Ukraine while US-led peace talks were happening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Days after those talks, which did not include Ukrainian negotiators, Trump invited Zelensky to the White House. Their meeting in the Oval Office devolved into a shouting match.
Zelensky angered Trump and Vice President Vance when he made a comment about the US having ‘a nice ocean’ separating it from conflict.
‘First of all during the war, everybody has problems. Even you, but you have a nice ocean and don’t feel it now but you will feel it in the future.’
Trump jumped in to say, ‘Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel… You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel.’
‘You’re gambling with World War III,’ Trump bellowed at Zelensky at one point.
Trump and Vance repeatedly told Zelensky he wasn’t being grateful for the tens of billions of dollars in aid the US has supplied his country for the war effort.
After the disastrous showdown, Trump briefly paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine. This was lifted on March 11, when Kyiv agreed to a 30-day interim ceasefire with Russia that had been proposed by the US.
