Pope Leo XIV proposed Italy as mediator in Ukraine peace talks

Pope Leo XIV has said that Italy can play a key role as a mediator in the negotiations to achieve peace in Ukraine. According to him, the Holy See is ready to support such an initiative to find a solution that will ensure a just peace in the region. This is reported by Vatican News.

The Pontiff emphasized the importance of European participation in the settlement process. «It is clear that, on the one hand, the President of the United States thinks that he can promote a peace plan that he would like to realize, which, at least initially, will be without Europe. But the presence of Europe is important and this first proposal was also changed because of what Europe said,» the Pope noted.

According to the head of the Catholic Church, it is Italy that is the most suitable candidate for the role of an effective mediator. «I think that Italy’s role can be very important. Culturally and historically, Italy has the ability to mediate the conflict that exists between different parties: Ukraine, Russia, the United States…,» Leo XIV explained.

In conclusion, he added that the Holy See is ready to encourage such mediation, and emphasized the need to jointly find a solution that «could really offer peace, a just peace, in this case in Ukraine.»

Earlier, the chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, spoke about why the Vatican cannot be considered a neutral platform for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. According to the bishop, the main problem in this case and in relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the ROC is the existence of a structure of Ukrainian Greek Catholics, who bring great harm to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.