Pope Francis said the Vatican was participating in a peace mission to try to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but declined to give further details.
Flying back from a three-day visit to Hungary on Sunday, April 30, he told reporters, “I’m willing to do whatever has to be done. There’s a mission in the works right now, but it hasn’t been made public. When it becomes public, I’ll say it.”
“I think peace is always achieved by opening channels. You can never achieve peace by closing channels. It’s not easy.”
The pope added that he had spoken to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Bishop Hilarion, who represents the Russian Orthodox Church in Budapest, about the situation in Ukraine.
“In these meetings, we don’t just talk about Little Red Riding Hood. We talk about all these things. Everyone is very interested in the path to peace,” he said.
Which regions of Ukraine are under the control of which side?
Russian shelling has intensified in several areas over the past few days, killing at least two people in Kupyansk and one in Nikolayev, according to Ukrainian officials. (Al Jazeera)
Pope Francis has prayed for peace almost every week since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and has repeatedly expressed his desire to act as an intermediary between Kiev and Moscow. However, his proposal has so far failed to yield any breakthroughs.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Smekhal met the Pope at the Vatican on Thursday and said he discussed a “peace package” proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said he had also invited the Pope to visit Kiev.
Pope Francis, 86, has previously said he wants to visit Kiev and Moscow on a peace mission.
Four other districts of Bachmut
The pope’s announcement came hours after Moscow said its forces had taken control of four districts of the Ukrainian front-line city of Bakhmut.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said units of its airborne forces overwhelmed Ukrainian troops on the city’s northern and southern outskirts.
Ukraine did not immediately respond to the claims.
For months, Russian troops have been trying to seize Bakhmut, the transport and logistics center of Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, part of the mainly Russian-speaking, industrialized Donbass region.
During the war in Ukraine, tens of thousands were killed, millions were displaced, and entire cities were razed to the ground.
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2023-05-01 02:17:18
