Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have met for the first time since their infamous February Oval Office stoush, with the pair talking privately before Pope Francis's funeral on Saturday.
Mr Zelenskyy's office said the men spoke for about 15 minutes in St Peter's Basilica and released a picture of both men sitting, hunched over and locked in discussion.
The White House described the conversation as "productive", while Ukraine's President took to the social media platform X to thank his US counterpart for the "good meeting".
"We discussed a lot one on one," his post read.
"Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results."
Mr Zelenskyy's team also claimed the US President and his Ukrainian counterpart had agreed to hold another meeting later on Saturday, local time.
Several hours after the funeral concluded, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform the same photoz Mr Zelenskyy's team released earlier in the day, but did not offer any written comment with them.
World leaders and foreign dignitaries have converged on Rome this week after Pope Francis's death on Monday.
What appeared an intimate chat between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy — none of their entourages could be seen in the photo — took place while thousands of mourners gathered in St Peter's Square, on the other side of the basilica's towering entry doors.
It was a far cry from their previous encounter, when the Ukrainian President was virtually kicked out of the White House after he, Mr Trump and US Vice President JD Vance quarrelled in front of their respective teams, and the world's media.
A much-vaunted minerals deal, which would give the US access to Ukraine's vast natural resources in exchange for financial and military aid, never got signed.
During that meeting in Washington DC, Mr Trump repeatedly told his Ukrainian counterpart that he did not "have the cards" to repel Russia's full-scale invasion of his country, which was launched in February 2022.
Mr Vance accused Mr Zelenskyy of not thanking the US enough for the billions of dollars in aid it had received as it attempted to defend itself.
Since then, things have been tense.
Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy's chat on Saturday comes amid protracted US-led attempts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
The US president and his administration have become increasingly frustrated with both nations, although after landing in Rome at the weekend, Mr Trump claimed a deal was "close".
"A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine. They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to 'finish it off,'" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
That declaration is a significant change in rhetoric.
Earlier this week, Mr Vance said his country would "walk away" from negotiations if Kyiv and Moscow could not make compromises, something Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also threatened.
Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised Mr Zelenskyy since he was inaugurated in January, and even gone so far as repeating a Kremlin lie that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war.
The US president has been keen to repair his country's relationship with Russia, too, although this week he took to Truth Social to plead with the country's president, Vladimir Putin, to stop attacking Ukraine.
On Thursday, Mr Trump posted: "I am not happy with the Russian attacks on Kiev. Unnecessary, and at a very bad time. Vladimir, STOP! 5,000 soldiers are dying every week. Let's get the peace deal done!"
The current US-lead peace blueprint is understood to include freezing the front lines where they are and recognising Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Mr Putin's forces in 2014, as being part of Russia.
Mr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said those conditions would be deal-breakers.
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine have been meeting US officials separately for several weeks.
However, representatives from Kyiv and Moscow have not had any contact since the early days of Russia's invasion.
On Saturday, Mr Zelenskyy's team also released a picture of the Ukrainian leader speaking with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Veteran US lawmaker John Kerry, who served as secretary of state in Barack Obama's administration, was at Pope Francis's funeral and told the ABC He was aware of Mr Trump's meeting with Mr Zelenskyy, although he did not divulge how it went.
"Everybody wants peace and that's very important, and President Trump has the responsibility for whatever choices are going to be made," he said.
"All of us want to see this end. It's a waste of energy, hopes and lives."
