US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held crunch war talks in the heart of the Vatican minutes before the start of the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, as the White House mounts an increasingly urgent push to strike a peace deal in Ukraine.

The office of President Zelensky shared a picture of Trump and Zelensky engaged in conversation at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump have met inside St Peter's Basilica ahead of Pope Francis' funeral. The White House described the 15-minute meeting as "very productive" and Zelensky later called it "very symbolic" with the "potential to become historic".