The Vatican has suffered a serious setback in its efforts to promote dialogue between the two warring parties, Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine rejects mediation by the Catholic Church. The reason: Pope Francis is “pro-Russian.”
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mychailo Podoljak gave this unflattering reason for the rejection on Friday on Rome news channel 24. The Vatican has been trying for months to initiate talks between Kiev and Moscow with a special adviser.
Podoljak referred to the pope’s statements at the end of August. At the time, the head of the Catholic Church spoke at a reception for Russian youth about ‘Great Mother Russia’. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s confidant said: “There is no point in talking about a mediator under the name of the Roman Pope if he takes a pro-Russian position that is clear to everyone.”
‘Didn’t get a fair assessment from the Vatican’
This had an “extremely negative” effect on the war. Podoljak added: “We are not getting a fair assessment of this war and the Vatican’s model of behavior.”
As a special representative of the Vatican, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi has been mediating between Moscow and Kiev for months. The Italian has already visited both capitals. The Pope himself repeatedly calls for peace in public appearances and regularly reminds us of the suffering of Ukrainians. However, on such occasions he does not directly mention Russia as an aggressor. This cost the Argentines early support in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Zelensky said it was becoming increasingly difficult to obtain weapons supplies for the fight against Russia. At a conference in Kiev, he said the counter-offensive launched three months ago would move faster if the Ukrainian army received more effective weapons. The Ukrainian president emphasized that it would also be more difficult to enforce new sanctions against Russia.
Source: Krone
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