Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher spoke at a conference on the Ukrainian Peace formula in Montreal.
He noted that the Vatican has been on a mission to release all prisoners of war and deportees since the very beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine, having received numerous requests for such mediation from the Ukrainian authorities. However, according to the representative, the results of all these efforts are “unsatisfactory”, reports vaticannews.va.
Still, direct contact between the parties, especially in the presence of diplomatic representatives, facilitates dialogue, he said.
Gallagher said Nuncio Visvaldas Kulbokas had named Catholic institutions willing to receive families with children returned from Russia, and the Vatican was renewing its request for new lists of children in Russia. In addition, the Vatican has provided the parties with thousands of names of POWs requesting their release or exchange, and has supported a proposal to create joint medical commissions to help prisoners. He also filed a request with the Russian side to hand over the bodies of the Ukrainian fallen soldiers.
Gallagher reported that Nuncio Kulbokas visited some Russian prisoners in Ukraine and stated that they are being held in proper conditions. A similar assurance regarding Ukrainian prisoners in Russia came from the Russian Ombudsman, but the Vatican was not allowed to verify this on their own.
Earlier, the Vatican reminded Russia about international conventions on the rights of prisoners.
