14:37

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump have met inside St Peter's Basilica ahead of Pope Francis' funeral.

Axar.az reports, citing BBC, the White House described the 15-minute meeting as "very productive" and a Ukrainian spokesman said the pair would meet for a second time later on Saturday.

Trump and Zelensky were pictured sitting locked in deep discussion, minutes before Pope Francis' funeral was due to start.

The meeting came a day after Trump said Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal", following talks between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.