What he discussed with US President Donald Trump during their meeting at the funeral of Pope Francis was revealed by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski.

As the conversation he had with him last month said was their “best” to date, with the two leaders discussing the US sanctions and the air defense of Kiev.

The brief meeting came at a critical time for Ukraine, amid concerns that the US could reduce their support for Kiev and abandon peace talks.

Both sides described the talks as positive, which marked their first face -to -face meeting after a devastating meeting at the Oval Office last February. Shortly afterwards, Trump questioned whether Russian President Vladimir Putin wants peace, the last sign that the US leader is losing his patience with his Russian counterpart.

“I think we had the best discussion with President Trump from all the previous ones,” Zelenski told reporters on Friday, in statements published on Saturday by the Ukraine Presidential Office.

“It might have been the sooner, but it was the most meaningful,” he said.

Zelenski said that the two discussed US sanctions, without further expanding, and described Trump’s comments on the issue as “very intense”. He added that he reiterated his desire to boost Ukraine’s air defense and told Trump that he hoped to have the opportunity to buy US weapons.

“I told him about the quantity and he told me that they would work on it, that these things are not free,” Zelenski said.

He added that he and Trump agreed that a 30 -day truce “is the right first step” and that “we will move in that direction”.