President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has met his US counterpart, Donald Trump in Rome, the Italian capital, where both leaders were attending the funeral of Pope Francis.

According to a spokesman for Zelensky, no details were provided of the meeting, but it comes at a critical time in negotiations aimed at bringing an end to fighting between Ukraine and Russia.

On Friday, Trump, who has been pressing both sides to agree a ceasefire, said that there had been productive talks between his envoy and the Russian leadership, and called for a high-level meeting between Kyiv and Moscow to close a deal.

The Republican had previously warned both sides that his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

DAILY POST reports that the meeting in Rome is the first face-to-face encounter between Trump and Zelensky since an Oval Office meeting in February that turned into a shouting match.

After that meeting, the United States cut off intelligence cooperation with Ukraine, which is critical to its efforts to stave off Russian attacks, though this was later restored.

Pope Francis’ funeral: Zelensky meets Trump in Rome