Lavrov meets with Pope’s emissary

The Russian foreign minister held consultations with the Vatican’s special envoy in Moscow about finding a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Pope Francis’ Special Envoy, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry has reported. 

According to a statement published on the ministry’s website, Lavrov met with the Vatican’s emissary as part of a working visit by the latter to the Russian capital. The two are said to have held in-depth discussions “on cooperation in the humanitarian sphere in the context of the conflict around Ukraine and touched upon a number of topical issues on the bilateral and international agenda.” 

The sides noted the “constructive development of the Russia-Vatican dialogue” during their talks, according to the statement.  

Since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the Vatican has been a vocal advocate for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Last year, Cardinal Zuppi was designated as the Holy See’s special envoy for peace in Ukraine and has since traveled to Kiev, Moscow, Washington, and Beijing in hopes of negotiating peace. 

Meanwhile, the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, also travelled to Ukraine this July and met with the country’s leadership. During that visit, Kiev once again tried to promote Vladimir Zelensky’s so-called ‘peace formula’, which calls for war reparations and a tribunal for Russian officials. After the meeting, Parolin said the formula was “not enough” and stressed that Russia must be included in any negotiations. 

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Moscow has welcomed the Vatican’s “neutral and balanced” position on the conflict and its efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Following Parolin’s comments about Zelensky’s peace formula, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova praised the Holy See representative, noting that he had voiced “what was obvious to any sensible person from the outset, [namely that] it is impossible to achieve a long-term and just peace without taking Moscow and its position into account.” 

Russia has repeatedly stressed that it remains open to dialogue with Ukraine on ending the conflict. However, Moscow has also admitted that it is reluctant to trust Kiev’s words and expressed doubt that the Ukrainian leadership truly wants peace. 

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he was ready to declare an immediate ceasefire and start peace negotiations if Ukraine withdrew its forces from Russia’s new territories and gave legally binding commitments to neutrality. However, after Kiev launched an incursion into Kursk Region in August, Putin said that no such peace talks could be held while Ukrainian troops were on Russian soil and indiscriminately attacking civilians.