Pope Francis has stated that he has volunteered to come to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an attempt to end the conflict in Ukraine, but has yet to get a response.
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, submitted the proposal for a meeting 20 days after Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, the pope told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Tuesday.
Popes have been trying for decades to visit Moscow as part of a long-running attempt to mend relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, which broke from Rome over 1,000 years ago. However, no invitation has ever been extended.
The pope was cited as adding, “Of course, the leader of the Kremlin would have to make accessible some window of opportunity.”
“But we still haven’t had an answer, and we’re keeping pressing,” he continued, “even though I’m afraid Putin can’t and won’t have this meeting right now.”
Following speculation of a trip to Kyiv, the Pope stated flatly, “I am not traveling to Kyiv presently… First, I must travel to Moscow and meet with Putin.”
During the interview, Francis also mentioned a meeting he had in March with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, who was a vocal backer of the invasion.
“He studied all of the arguments for the conflict with paper in hand,” the pope told Corriere. “I listened and told him, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ We are not state clergy, thus we cannot use political terminology, just the language of Jesus… To achieve this, we must seek out peaceful avenues and put an end to the firing of weapons.'”
Francis said, “He can’t become Putin’s altar boy.” The Vatican called off the meeting between the two religious leaders in Jerusalem in order to avoid “confusion.”
The pope has frequently called for a stop to the fighting in the war-torn country, but he has avoided criticizing Putin personally.
Some “potentate, regrettably caught up in archaic claims of nationalist interests, is instigating and fomenting tensions,” the pope remarked in early April.
In recent weeks, Francis has repeatedly chastised the arms industry and the West’s announced increases in defense spending.
In keeping with Catholic social philosophy, he has also championed the right of Ukrainians to defend their homeland against Russian invasion. He told Corriere that he felt too far removed from the situation to assess the morality of resupplying Ukrainian armed troops from the West.
He did say, though, that he was attempting to figure out why Russia behaved the way it did. “This howling of NATO at Russia’s door,” he was reported as saying, “may have encouraged an anger that I don’t know whether you can say was caused.”
