Pope Leo XIV has suggested holding peace talks between Ukraine and Russia at the Vatican after a meeting in Istanbul failed to bring together the main players in the conflict.
This is according to Politico, Ukrinform reports.
Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s no-show at peace talks in Turkey that he himself suggested, the Vatican called the outcome “tragic” and said Pope Leo XIV wants to make the Holy See available to host the two sides in an effort to end the war, which has been raging for more than three years.
“This is all tragic because we hoped that it would be a, maybe slow, process, but with a peaceful solution to the conflict, and instead we are back at the beginning,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s top diplomat, told reporters on the fringes of a Vatican event in Rome on Friday. “Now we will see what to do, but the situation is difficult.”
“The pope plans to make the Vatican, the Holy See, available for a direct meeting between the two sides,” Parolin said.
Leo XIV, who was elected last week, has made it clear that working for peace in Ukraine will be a major priority of his pontificate. He spoke to President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone on Sunday, and referred to “the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people” in his first Sunday blessing in St. Peter’s Square.
At an audience with Eastern Church representatives on Wednesday, Leo appealed to the two leaders “with all his heart” to negotiate. “The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together face to face … Let us meet, let us talk, let us negotiate,” adding: “Those who make history are the peacemakers,” the pontiff said.
His predecessor Pope Francis sent an envoy to Ukraine and Russia, and worked to facilitate the reunification of Ukrainian children with their families and the exchange of prisoners-of-war. Francis defended Ukraine, although earlier in the conflict he had attributed blame to NATO expansion.
On Friday, May 16, trilateral talks between delegations from Ukraine, the United States, and Turkey began in Istanbul.
Putin, who proposed holding the talks in Istanbul, refused to attend them personally, but sent a delegation led by his aide, Vladimir Medinsky. It also includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.
European leaders criticized Putin’s decision, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the low level of the delegation a “big mistake” by Putin.
Photo: Vatican News
Source: Pope proposes holding Ukraine-Russia talks at Vatican
