President VolodyMyr Zensky van Ukraine attended the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV on Sunday and later met the new Pope in private, days after Leo expressed a personal desire to help end the war with Russia.
The meeting took place after the newly chosen Pope was offered on Friday to organize conversations between Ukraine and Russia in the Vatican and said he would make every effort so that peace could prevail.
“The holy chair is always ready to bring enemies together, Face -To -Face, to talk to each other,” Leo added. The State Secretary for the Pope, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said that the offer was “the availability of a space” and the Vatican called “appropriate place” for peace talks.
In the service in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, Leo spoke strongly about people who suffer because of wars around the world.
“Martyred Ukraine is waiting for negotiations for a just and permanent peace,” said Leo at the end of the service, following language used by his predecessor, Pope Francis.
The Lord Zensky thanked the Pope for his ‘special words’, and said in a social media post that ‘every nation deserves to live in peace and safety’. After a meeting with Leo, he also thanked the Vatican for his willingness to serve as a platform for direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. ”
“The holy chair can play an important role in ending the war because of his voice and authority,” he wrote on social media.
The American State Secretary, Marco Rubio, said that the Vatican could be a location for Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations, but neither Russia nor Ukraine have indicated whether they would take the pope on his offer.
On Sunday, Mr Rubio attended De Inaugural Mass, just like Vice President JD Vance. Mr Zelensky shook his hand with Mr. Vance when he arrived.
It was the second time that the Lord Zensky visited the Holy chair in recent weeks. When he attended the funeral of Pope Franciscus on 26 April, Mr Zelensky gathered With President Trump, who delivered a striking picture of the two men who faced each other on metal chairs in an elegant hall. It was the first time they had met since February Sit-down in the Oval Office In February, in which Mr Trump castigated the Ukrainian leader.
It was unclear whether informal meetings about Ukraine would take place after mass.
Friedrich Merz, the new Chancellor of Germany, told reporters in Rome on Sunday that he with Mr. Rubio had spoken about the coming phone call from Mr. Trump with Mr. Putin. Speaking with reporters after the service was completed, Mr. Merz said that he and the leaders of France and the United Kingdom were planning to try to speak Mr. Trump before that phone call.
“My strong impression is that both Europeans and Americans are determined to work together, but now also in a targeted way, to ensure that this terrible war ends quickly,” said Mr. Merz.
On Saturday, Mr Zensky said that he had met Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada and President Karin Keller-Sutter of Switzerland separately in Rome to discuss how pressure on Russia can be increased to end the war.
The search for peace in Ukraine has gathered pace in recent weeks. Delegations of the two parties held their first direct conversations in Turkey on Friday and later agreed on one prisoner -exchange.
Pope Francis, who died on April 21, regularly called for peace in Ukraine.
Since his election, Leo has indicated a deep interest to end the war. Last week he used his first Sunday address impose An “authentic, just and sustainable peace” in Ukraine and for all prisoners of war to be liberated. He added that children should be returned to their families. Although he did not specify which children, a lot Ukrainian children have been brought to Russia against the wishes of their families since the war began.
Christopher F. Schuetze Berlin reported contributed.
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