Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) President Cardinal Matteo Zuppi visited Moscow to meet Russian government and Orthodox Church officials on Wednesday and Thursday to find an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, and while no agreement has been reached, the dialogue remains open.
Zuppi was instructed by Pope Francis to “encourage gestures of humanity that can help foster a solution to the current tragic situation and find ways to achieve a just peace”.
The cardinal met with Yuri Ushakov – Putin’s foreign policy advisor – and Orthodox Patriarch Kirill – head of the Russian Orthodox Church – to discuss a possible political-diplomatic resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov said that Russia remains ‘open’ to dialogue but accused Western countries, such as France and Germany, of not pursuing their respective attempts at dialogue with President Vladimir Putin.
On 5 and 6 June, the Cardinal travelled to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had already spoken privately with Pope Francis in Rome on 14 May during his official visit to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Despite this, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andryi Yermak, had harsh words to say about Zuppi’s visit to Moscow, adding – however – that if he got results for Ukrainian children and on the exchange of prisoners, these would be welcome.
“Our position is clear, and we have expressed it very openly: we do not need any mediation, and this is because we have had bad experiences. We do not trust Russia”, Yermak said.
Both Zuppi and the Pope particularly care about the fate of the Ukrainian children who were allegedly taken from the areas occupied by the military and deported to Russia.
For this reason, Zuppi met with Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Llova-Belova, who is currently the subject – together with Putin – of an arrest order by the International Criminal Court on charges of illegal deportation of Ukrainian children.
Despite the confidentiality about the content of the meetings, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had a “high appreciation” of the Vatican’s efforts and initiatives “in the search for a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis”.
“We welcome the Pope’s efforts in contributing to the cessation of the armed conflict”, Peskov said, adding that no specific agreement had been reached as a result of the visit but that dialogue will continue if necessary.
(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)
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