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US President Donald Trump has questioned Russian President Vladimir Putin's willingness to end the war in Ukraine following his meeting with the country's leader Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral.
Posting on social media after leaving Rome, Trump said he feared Putin was "tapping me along" after Moscow's strikes on Kyiv earlier this week, adding there was "no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas".
Earlier in the day Trump and Zelensky were seen in deep discussion in St Peter's Basilica shortly before the funeral began.
The White House described the 15-minute meeting with Zelensky as "very productive". The Ukrainian president said it had the "potential to become historic".
It was Trump's first face-to-face encounter with the Ukrainian president since February's acrimonious Oval Office showdown.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump said the Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities "makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?'".
Trump had previously said Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal" following three-hour talks between his envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president on Friday.
The Kremlin meanwhile said on Saturday that Putin had confirmed Russia's readiness to enter into direct talks with Ukraine "without preconditions" to Witkoff.