Pope Francis wants to mediate peace in Ukraine.
On Saturday, he and Volodymyr Zelensky met in the Vatican.
– It is a great honor, said the Ukrainian president during the meeting.
During Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s visit to Italy on Saturday, the president took the opportunity to meet Pope Francis in the Vatican. They were both caught on camera shaking hands before the meeting.
– Thank you for the visit, the Pope said before the meeting according to the Italian news agency Tend.
– It is a great honor, said Zelensky.
The Pope and Zelenskyy talked about the situation in Ukraine and touched on both humanitarian and political issues, according to the news agency. The Ukrainian president is said to have also received a sculpture representing an olive branch, a symbol of peace, from the Pope.
Criticism of the Pope
At the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Pope Francis drew criticism after saying that NATO could be considered to have provoked the war by “barking outside Russia’s door”.
The Pope also condemned the Russian brutality, but at the same time warned against dividing the world into “bad and good”. Even then, the Vatican tried to have a mediating role between the two warring Orthodox countries.
Pleaded for peace at the embassy
Immediately after the invasion, the Pope personally went to the Russian embassy in the Vatican to plead for peace, a very unusual departure from the Vatican’s foreign policy, where it is always the Pope who summons envoys from different countries.
In recent months, the Pope has been appealing almost every week for peace in Ukraine. And the Vatican has been involved in mediation to repatriate some of the thousands of Ukrainian children taken to Russia.
Active dialogue with both parties
After a trip to Budapest, the pope said cryptically that the Vatican was trying to broker peace between Kiev and Moscow, but he could not reveal any details.
Since then, the Pope has, among other things, held a meeting with the Russian Orthodox Church’s envoy in Moscow.
Throughout the war, the Pope has emphasized the importance of keeping all doors open and of having an active dialogue with all parties.
The Ukrainian president has invited the Pope to visit Kiev and the 86-year-old Pope has replied that he would be happy to come, if it can be combined with a trip to Moscow.
Photo: Vatican News via AP