Vice President JD Vancemet with Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyin Rome, coming together after an earlier spat in the Oval Office to work towards a peace deal to end Ukraine's war with Russia. Zelenskyy and Vance, whoclashed at the White Housein February, met on May 18 after the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV. Secretary of StateMarco Rubioalso attended the meeting. "The leaders discussed their shared goal of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine and provided updates on the current state of negotiations for a ceasefire and lasting peace," the vice president's office said in a statement. Zelenskyy said it was a "good" meeting, a shift from February when Vance accused him of being "disrespectful" and their discussion blew up from there, with Trump jumping in to berate the Ukrainian leader. "I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,"the Ukrainian leader wroteof the May 18 discussion with Vance. The meeting came ahead of Trump'splanned callson May 19 with Zelenskyy and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin. Trump met with Zelenskyy in April atPope Francis' funeral. Trump has pressured both sides to accept a ceasefire and peace deal to end a war that began in 2022 whenRussia invaded Ukraine. Zelenskyy backs a 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has said he first wants talks to review details of a possible truce. Ukraine and Russia held negotiations in Turkey that wrapped up on May 16. It was the first time the two sides engaged in talks since the early weeks of the war.They agreed to a prisoner swapand continued discussions. Putin sent a second-tier team of negotiators to the peace talks, spurning Zelenskyy's challenge to meet in person. Trump told reporters last week that he doesn't expect progress on peace talks until "Putin and I get together." After leaning heavily on Ukraine and joining Vance inclashing with Zelenskyyin the February Oval Office meeting, Trump has shown increasing impatience with Putin in recent weeks and threatened additional sanctions on Russia. Former Vice PresidentMike Pencetold NBC's "Meet the Press"in an interview that aired May 18 that Putin only understands strength, and it's time for Trump to get tough with Russia. "President Zelenskyy has agreed to a ceasefire... and Vladimir Putin calls a meeting that he doesn't show up for," Pence said. "So I honestly think the time has come forPresident Trumpto impose harsh sanctions on Russia and also to increase military support for Ukraine." While in Rome, Vance and Rubio also met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Canadian Prime MinisterMark Carney. They discussed trade issues as the Trump administration threatens reciprocal tariffs on several countries. Contributing: Reuters This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:JD Vance meets Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass
