US Vice President J.D. Vance, who along with US Secretary of State Mark Rubio met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome on 18 May, said the purpose of the conversation was to discuss peace talks to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“our countries share the goal of ending unnecessary bloodshed in Ukraine, and we discussed the latest news on the ongoing ceasefire and lasting peace talks,” Vance wrote on social network X on the evening of 18 May.
Zelensky specified the day before that he discussed with Vance and Rubio negotiations in Istanbul and the need for new sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade between Ukraine and the United States, defence cooperation, the situation on the battlefield and the future exchange of prisoners with Russia.
The meeting between Zelensky and Vance was the first since they had a dispute at the White House in February this year, and came two days after the first direct talks between Ukraine and Russia in more than three years, held in Istanbul.
Zelensky and Vance attended Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass at the Vatican before their meeting.