The Vatican broke the protocol to ensure Zelanski, who came to Rome with his wife Olena, a place in the same row where Donald Trump and President of France Emmanuel Macron sat – said the daily. The President of Ukraine received spontaneous applause when he took his place in St. Peter's Square after a short meeting with Trump as part of their first conversations since the argument in the oval office.
In the first row, not a third
According to “Telegraph”, the Vatican made special preparations to provide Zelanski with a prominent place in the spotlight during the ceremony, while most leaders sat according to the name of their country and regardless of whether they were the heads of states or governments.
Mysterious rules ordered the leaders to sit in alphabetical order according to their country's name in French – a traditional language of diplomacy at a time when reports were made. As the President of Ukraine, Zelanski could expect that he would sit in the third row or even further at the back. Instead, he sat in the first place, 11 places to the right of Trump.
The Vatican did not deny that the rules of the protocol were bent. “I believe they took a free place” – Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told the British journal.
Between Zelanski and Trump there were, among others, the presidents of India, Hungary (French: Hondgrie), Gabon, the President of France and his wife Brigitte and the President of Finland. In French, the name of the United States begins with the letter “E”-“Etats-Unis”. On the right side of the President of Ukraine, the President of Ireland sat, which seems to indicate that the principles of the protocol were bent to ensure the Ukrainian leader a prominent place – said the British daily. In other places, the rules were strictly observed – he noted.
