The Pope has revealed that he has requested a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin to try to reason with him about his bloody war in Ukraine, but has been met with silence so far.
The 85-year-old pope told Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera that he had told Moscow through Vatican diplomats that he was seeking a meeting three weeks after the conflict began.
Pope Francis met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban two weeks ago and was told by the far-right leader – Putin’s main EU ally – that “the Russians have a plan that it will all end on May 9,” which Anniversary marks the end of the Soviet Union’s participation in World War II.
With that date approaching early next week, Francis Putin said he was ready to travel to Moscow.
“Certainly it was necessary for the Kremlin leader to allow an opening. We haven’t received an answer yet and we still insist on it,” Francis said.
He added: “I am afraid Putin cannot and does not want to have this meeting at this time. But how can you not stop so much brutality?’
Pope Francis waves during Regina Caeli’s prayer in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Monday. The pope has asked to meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face to get him to reason with his bloody war in Ukraine, but has so far been met with silence
Russian President Vladimir Puint, who is reportedly suffering from cancer, Parkinson’s disease and “schizophrenic symptoms,” has so far turned down all requests from the pope to discuss ending the war
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Pope Francis two weeks ago that “the Russians have a plan that everything will end on May 9”, referring to the anniversary of Russia’s liberation at the end of World War II
The Pope has walked a delicate balance in the conflict, condemning “unjustified aggression” and deploring atrocities against civilians, but has so far refrained from officially pointing the finger at Russia and Putin.
When asked about a trip to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, which Pope Francis said last month was a possibility, the pope said he would not go now.
“First I have to go to Moscow, first I have to meet Putin… I’m doing what I can. If only Putin would open a door,” he said.
Francis also seemed to imply that NATO was partly to blame for Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, which began when the Russian tyrant ordered his troops across his neighbor’s border on February 24.
He said that while he would not go so far as to say that NATO’s presence in nearby countries like Poland and the Balkans “provoked” Russia, the military alliance “perhaps facilitated” the invasion by acting as Putin’s “barked” at the door.
NATO and other countries supporting Ukraine have insisted that Moscow was the aggressor and massed its troops at the border in the months leading up to the invasion before it began invading a sovereign country.
Russian Telegram channels have reported that Putin is very ill and has a triple whammy of cancer, Parkinson’s disease and “schizophrenic symptoms,” which may to some extent explain his unrelenting bloodthirst for Ukraine.
Instead, the head of the Catholic Church is negotiating with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, who is a full-blooded supporter of the violent conflict.
The war in Ukraine has strained relations between the two churches and created divisions among Orthodox Christians around the world.
Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church is a full-blooded supporter of the invasion of Ukraine
Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulate each other after the Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Patrich Kirill hsa provided cover for Putin to continue his war in Ukraine
In the interview, Francis said that when he had a 40-minute video conference with Kirill on March 16, the patriarch spent half of it reading from a piece of paper “with all the justifications for war.”
Moscow describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” its neighbor.
Kirill, 75, sees the war as a bulwark against a decadent West – particularly for its acceptance of homosexuality – that threatens its vision of a “Russky Mir” (“Russian World”) that includes Belarus and Ukraine.
“We (the Pope and Kirill) are pastors of the same people of God. Therefore we must seek ways of peace to end the fire of arms. The patriarch cannot become Putin’s altar boy,” Francis was quoted as saying.
The Pope also said that when he met Viktor Orban on April 21, the Hungarian prime minister told him “the Russians have a plan that everything will end on May 9”, referring to the anniversary of Russia’s liberation at the end of World War II.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the anniversary will not affect Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine.