US President Donald Trump said he will see "a lot of people" during his visit to Rome, where he will attend the funeral of Pope Francis, ANSA reports. 

Trump and first lady Melania, after descending the steps of Air Force One and greeting the delegation that met them at Fiumicino airport. 

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Donald Trump said that among the people he will talk to or see in Rome are Prime Minister George Meloni, but declined to say whether he will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky or name other people he plans to meet with. He also declined to say whether it would be a face-to-face meeting or whether he simply planned to mingle with other foreign leaders at the funeral. 

"I'm going to meet some people in Rome, yeah... And it's a bit of a rush, and frankly it's a bit disrespectful to have meetings when you're at a Pope's funeral, they say. But I'm going to talk to some people, I'm going to see a lot of people," the US president said. 

On the importance of going to the Pope's funeral, he said, "I thought it was out of respect," but also "because we won the votes of Catholics." "We succeeded with the Catholic vote and our relationship is very good, so I think it's appropriate." 

On Joe Biden's attendance at the funeral, he said he was unaware of his presence, but stressed that talking to him was "not high on my list". 

The Republican said extending the 90-day suspension of tariffs was "unlikely."

"Excellent prime minister": that's how Trump described George Meloni, with whom he said he looked forward to meeting. | BGNES