Mystery meeting: Zelensky and Trump's Vatican exchange decoded
Just before Pope Francis's funeral at the Vatican, there was a meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump. The brief conversation stirred a lot of emotions, especially since it was not officially disclosed what it was about. An expert in lip-reading decided to solve this mystery.
What you need to know
- Meeting at the Vatican: Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump met at the Vatican just before Pope Francis's funeral.
- Leaders' conversation: Zelensky and Trump talked for only a few minutes, but the meeting was described as "very productive" by the White House.
Historical meeting?
This was the first meeting of both leaders since the memorable confrontation in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C.
Although the recording of the meeting at St. Peter's Basilica is very short, Nicola Hickling, a lip-reading expert, decided to decode it.
"I would like you to do it, but not in this way," Zelensky supposedly said to the U.S. President. Trump reportedly replied: "That's a very interesting strategy, I assure you."
What did Trump say to Macron?
During the meeting, when Emmanuel Macron joined the conversation, there was a cold exchange of words. "You are wrong. You have to do me a favour, you shouldn't be here," Trump supposedly said to Macron, according to the lip-reading expert. The recording shows Zelensky nodding in agreement with the U.S. President.
Both the White House and the Ukrainian side emphasize that the meeting was "very productive" and "very symbolic." The conversation took place after Trump declared that a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia is "very close."
