An important call for peace in Ukraine, although not decisive between Pope Leo XIV and President Putin on Thursday afternoon. It is the first between the Pontiff and the Russian president since Russia has invaded the country in February 2022.
Previously, Putin and Pope Francis – who on the conflict has always kept the utmost attention with numerous appeals and also different initiatives of humanitarian diplomacy – They had met three times in the Vatican, in 2013, 2015 and 2019, and had also spoken by telephone, the last time in December 2021.
“During the phone call, in addition to the mortgage interest issues,” explained the spokesperson for the press room Matteo Bruni, «Particular attention was paid to the situation in Ukraine and peace. The Pope has made an appeal so that Russia makes a gesture that favors peace, underlined the importance of dialogue for the creation of positive contacts between the parties and seeking solutions to the conflict “.
There was also talk “of the humanitarian situation, of the need to encourage aid where necessary, of the continuous efforts for the exchange of prisoners and the value of work that Cardinal Zuppi carries out in this sense». Pope Leone, explained Bruni again, “referred to Patriarch Kirill, thanking for the greetings received at the beginning of his pontificate and underlined how common Christian values can be a light that helps to seek peace, defend life and seek authentic religious freedom”.
The Pope had also had a telephone interview with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky A few days after his election and had met him on the occasion of the Pontificate Start Mass on 18 May. Numerous appeals launched by Leone XIV for peace in Ukraine after those repeated, Di Francesco. In the Queen Caeli of 11 May, the first of the pontificate, he said: “I bring the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people into my heart. You can do everything possible to reach as soon as possible to authentic, just and lasting peace. All prisoners and children can return to their families ».
On May 16, in the speech to Diplomatic body accredited at the Santa SedAnd, the Pope had expressed the hope of “a world in which everyone can achieve their humanity in truth, justice and peace. I hope – he said – that this can happen in all contexts, starting from the most tested ones such as Ukraine and the Holy Land “.
In the Queen Caeli of 18 May, after the Pontificate Start Mass, Leone had reiterated that “the battered Ukrainian”, using the same adjective used by Pope Francis, “He finally awaits negotiations for a right and lasting peace.”
In the general hearing of May 28, he underlined that his thought “often goes to the Ukrainian people, affected by new, serious attacks against civilians and infrastructures”, ensuring his closeness and prayer for all victims, in particular for children and families: «I strongly renew the appeal to stop the war and support any initiative of dialogue and peace. I ask everyone to join in prayer for peace in Ukraine and wherever you suffer from war “.
In the meantime, however, the Russian authorities, always praising the “balanced” position of the Vatican, have applauded several times to the initiatives of “humanitarian diplomacy” promoted by Bergoglio, and carried out firsthand by Cardinal Zuppi, who favored exchanges of prisoners with Ukraine and the return of minors deported to Russia.
Now this direct conversation goes even further, since Putin expressed open appreciation for the availability of Pope Leo to help resolve the Ukrainian crisis. And, as the Kremlin recalled by talking about a construction interview, the Russian president also underlined the desire to continue the contacts. The direct channel is open, therefore, and now it is a question of carrying it on.
That this is a passage of a certain relevance confirm the words that the cardinal secretary of state just before the phone call, Pietro Parolin, He had pronounced on the sidelines of an event in Rome. “I feel a huge sadness that you cannot establish direct contact between the two sides to start seeing the end of this war a little: I express my sadness, my pain, for this situation”, said the secretary of state, “The Holy See, we, have offered the possibility of a space, remains this offer that the Pope made at the beginning of his pontificate but I do not think from the answers that there were given that there is hope that this possibility will be exploitedIt then added.
Also because, on the day of the phone call with the Pope, Putin had another with the American president Donald Trump A few days after the Russian-Ukraine negotiations of Istanbul, he concluded without outcome and overshadowed by Kiev’s sensational blitz against the enemy air bases in Siberia. The US President tried for the umpteenth time to rekindle the flame of diplomacy in his own way: a peer dialogue, a new phone call to Putin. But the response of his interlocutor has not been conciliatory. “President Putin told me, with great firmness, that he will have to respond to recent attacks” from Ukraine against the Russian bombers, reported the US president, who then admitted: “It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace.”
From this point of view, we will see if the open channel between Kremlin and the Holy See will bear fruit.
