President Donald Trump is expected on Monday to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the latest in a series of high-level meetings and negotiations as the Trump administration and international allies seek an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump, who returned from his Middle East trip on Friday, is expected to continue pushing Congress to pass his "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," whichnarrowly passeda House committee vote on Sunday. Pope Leo XIV spoke on Monday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a wide-ranging conversation that included "good bilateral relations" and "collaboration" between the church and states, the Vatican said.They also discussed "some matters of special relevance to ecclesial life and religious freedom," the Vatican's Holy See press office said in a statement. "Finally, there was an exchange of views on some current international issues, calling for respect for humanitarian law and international law in areas of conflict and for a negotiated solution between the parties involved," the Vatican said. Vance and Rubio had a private audience with Leo on Monday morning at the offices of the Secretariat of State, which serves as the church's central administrative and diplomatic arm.Vance also met with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the church's secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, according to the Vatican.-ABC News' Phoebe Natanson Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio entered a closed-door meeting with newly installed Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday.The meeting with Leo, who has in the week since his election called for an end to Russia's war in Ukraine, comes as the Trump administration begins another week of diplomatic efforts to halt the conflict. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to speak later on Monday.Rubio and Vance, who had on Sunday attended Leo's inaugural mass, also met later in the day with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Rome. Vance met with the pope's predecessor, Francis, on the day before the pontiff died.
