Home » World » Pope Francis Sparks Controversy with Call for Ukraine to “Raise the White Flag” amid Russia-Ukraine War

Pope Francis Sparks Controversy with Call for Ukraine to “Raise the White Flag” amid Russia-Ukraine War

2024-03-11 15:26 Compiled by United Daily News Lu Silun/Real-time reporting

Reuters reported that Roman Catholic Pope Francis recently called on Ukraine to have the courage to “raise the white flag” to provoke controversy. Ukrainian President Zelensky responded that he would fight to the end, and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently stated that Francis should be calling on Western countries to give up defeating Russia. , realizing that he chose the wrong side in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The 87-year-old Francis gave an exclusive interview to Swiss public broadcaster RSI last month and said that Ukraine should have the courage to “raise the white flag” and end the war with Russia through negotiations, sparking controversy over his gaffe.

In response, Italian news agency ANSA quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as saying, “I think the Pope is asking Western countries to put down their ambitions and admit that they chose the wrong side.”

Shakalova said the West is using Ukraine as a tool to attack Russia.

She also said Russia “never obstructed negotiations,” adding that Ukraine had “reached a dead end.”

Regarding Francis’s “white flag theory”, Ukrainian President Zelensky responded on the 10th that Francis was conducting “virtual mediation 2,500 kilometers away.” The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs vowed that Kyiv would never give in.

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously said that shortly after he dispatched troops to Ukraine, Moscow and Kiev almost reached a ceasefire agreement, but it was the UK that stood in the way.

Reuters reported last month that Putin proposed a ceasefire in Ukraine to freeze the war, but was rejected by the United States after being approached by an intermediary.

Putin has always regarded the Russo-Ukrainian war as a life-and-death battle between the sacred Russian civilization and the arrogant West. He also said that the West was declining culturally, politically and economically, and tried to humiliate Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The West regards Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as an imperialist land grab that challenges the post-Cold War international order and leads to confrontation between the West and Russia.

For Ukraine, the Russo-Ukrainian war is a battle for survival, and it will not give up until the last Russian soldier is driven out of the territory.

Roman Catholic Pope Francis recently called on Ukraine to have the courage to “raise the white flag” to provoke controversy. Ukrainian President Zelensky responded… Ukraine Russia Russia-Ukraine War Pope Francis

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2024-03-11 07:26:25

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