A private meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky following the Pope’s funeral “has potential to become historic,” the Ukrainian leader said yesterday. It was the first time the pair had met since February, when President Zelensky received a verbal mauling in the Oval Office. A photograph shows them sitting opposite one another on chairs within St Peter's Basilica, in the heart of Vatican City.

But without Vice President JD Vance in tow, and arguably cowed by the enormous round of applause Zelensky received from world leaders as he stepped out into St Peter's Square, Trump appeared more receptive to his Ukrainian counterpart’s views.

The US President was seen to lean in and engage Zelensky in deep conversation during the meeting, which lasted a full 15 minutes.

To emphasise this, Trump later took to social media to berate Russian premier Vladimir Putin, saying: “There was no reason" for Putin "to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days."

He added: "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, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?' Too many people are dying!!!"

Mr Putin, meanwhile, was in Moscow, holding a private meeting with the Chief of his General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery Gerasimov.

The US President had hinted on Friday that Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal," following talks between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin in Moscow.

That deal is likely to see President Zelensky forced to allow Russia — temporarily, at least — to retain control of vast swathes of occupied land in eastern Ukraine and Crimea that it has already captured.

In return, Russia would be expected to accept Ukraine's right to develop its own army and defence industry.

This would mean Putin giving up one of his main stated war aims — the “demilitarisation” of the country.

Mr Zelensky had insisted he would not recognise either Russian sovereignty over Crimea, Donbas, or Donetsk.

But there was no mention of territory as he took to social media to say it had been a "good meeting."

"We discussed a lot one-on-one. Hoping for results on everything we covered," he wrote on Telegram, adding: "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.”

The results of the meeting had already been shared with Sir Keir Starmer, as the Prime Minister met with Zelensky for private talks later.

President Zelensky said it had been agreed that any deal depended on “unconditional ceasefire on sky, sea, and land as the first step towards establishing just peace with reliable security guarantees.”

A multinational stability force of 30,000 troops, led by Britain and France, remains on the cards.

So does an Enhanced Air Policing (eAP) operation — a multinational squadron of Typhoons and F-35s — to impose a no-fly zone over Ukrainian skies.

But this would require access to US intelligence to ensure it could react quickly to oncoming Russian missiles.

Here, too, there may be a shift in US posture, with some reports suggesting that Donald Trump — who previously said US businesses on Ukrainian soil would be deterrent enough — is now willing to allow Kyiv to benefit from US intelligence as part of a post-peace deal.

“The US won’t use its troops, but allowing Ukraine access to intelligence gained from systems which Europe simply doesn’t possess would be key in boosting Europe’s deterrence posture,” said Nathalie Vogel, Research Fellow at the IWP Center for Intermarium Studies.

Few believe that Putin will simply accept the terms indefinitely, however.

“Although he may be allowed to keep a fifth of Ukraine, many of his other red lines will not have been met, and I don’t believe this is a scenario that Putin will be content to accept indefinitely — if he accepts it at all,” warned former Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood.

“He will build up his forces and look for — or manufacture — an excuse to blame Ukraine for attacking a third time.

"It will happen at a time of his choosing, when he’s ready."

Last night a European diplomat said: “If this works, it's a start, but we are not fooled by Russia.

"Frankly, we are doing our best, using strategic ambiguity with Moscow, to reach a scenario where we can hold out for the four years while Mr Trump is in office.

"A different US administration may once again help Ukraine to achieve a more lasting peace."