On May 13, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine met with Pope Francis. After that, in an interview with the Italian media, the president spoke of whether Vatican mediation is possible in establishing peace in Ukraine.
The president emphasized that there was no sense in the attempts of certain countries or influential personalities to mediate between Ukraine and Russia to end the war. That’s according to Channel 24.
Volodymyr Zelensky noted that his country is interested in proposals that can contribute to the achievement of a just peace, primarily based on the Ukrainian formula.
“We do not need mediators between Ukraine and the aggressor who seized our territories,” emphasized President Zelensky.
He noted that it’s Russia that unleashed the war and has been taking lives, and that the hostilities are taking place on Ukraine’s land.
“We know all the crises that have occurred, as well as the challenges: nuclear, ecological, food, and energy. Only we know what they are about. We did not propose an artificial plan – we proposed a way of getting out of this situation, of ending the war – according to the law, respecting the UN Charter, international law, people, and values,” Zelensky emphasized.
According to the president, Ukraine definitely welcomes proposals from third parties for help in overcoming the crises provoked by the war and ending the war. At the same time, the head of state added that the peace formula is to involve those countries that seek want to achieve it in Europe.
Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that Ukrainians well remember how the mediation with Putin within the framework of the Normandy format ended.
“We have to develop an action plan for a just peace in Ukraine. And this is where we invite – I told His Holiness – including the Vatican as one of the leaders to this format,” Zelensky emphasized.
“The Vatican is primarily about morality”
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the President’s Office, noted that, first of all, the Vatican is about morality. In particular, when you call the aggressor an aggressor, harshly and directly condemn mass crimes, and also openly take the side of the country that is being killed and destroyed in an unprovoked way.
“When you personally come to the defense of those who are unconditional victims of Russian aggression. When evil, which is Russia, is called evil. This is the only way holy Justice is born. Because this is not about some kind of ‘mediation in favor of the aggressor’ but about real peace and real punishment for evil,” Podolyak emphasized.
