The US and European leaders are pinning their hopes on the Vatican as a platform for talks between Russia and Ukraine. However, the Kremlin is "not thrilled" with the idea, believing Turkey to be the best place for dialogue.
This is reported by Bloomberg.
The Holy See has made it clear that the newly elected Pope Leo XIV is ready to engage in diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky met with the pontiff on May 18, after which he thanked the Vatican for its willingness to become a platform for direct negotiations between the parties.
"The Vatican, represented by the Pope, has expressed great interest in accepting negotiations. Let the process begin!" wrote the US President Donald Trump on the Truth Social network.
However, Russian officials are not planning a visit by Putin to the Vatican or anywhere else. His press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on May 22 that there were no agreements on this. According to the source, the Kremlin expects the next round of dialogue to take place in Istanbul, Turkey.
Discussions about the Vaticanʼs potential role as host or mediator are ongoing, European officials say. Talks between Kyiv and Moscow could take place as early as next week, depending on Russiaʼs willingness to participate, the sources added.
At the same time, US officials are making it clear to the Kremlin that they would like to avoid the participation in the negotiations of "hardliners" like Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation in Istanbul this month.
Putin will not travel to Italy, a NATO member, for security reasons. Moscow also does not consider the Vatican to be a neutral party in the war, said Sergei Markov, a political consultant close to the Kremlin.
The situation is also complicated by relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), which is led by Patriarch Kirill, an outspoken supporter of Putin, Bloomberg writes. The ROC is outraged that the Vatican has not condemned the closure of churches in Ukraine loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate.
Italy is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023 on suspicion of war crimes in Ukraine. Theoretically, if the Russian leader arrives in Rome, the state is obligated to arrest him.
“The Vatican as a negotiating platform will be a very difficult choice for the Kremlin. If this is the only chance for Putin to make a ʼgrand deal’ with Trump, he may agree to the Vatican, but first try to offer all possible alternatives,” says independent religious analyst Ksenia Luchenko.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes that it would be "not very comfortable" for the Vatican to receive delegations from two Orthodox countries. He believes it would be "a bit inelegant", the minister is quoted as saying by Russian propaganda media.
- On May 16, the first direct talks between Ukraine and Russia since 2022 were held in Istanbul. The meeting lasted a little over an hour. According to journalists, Russia demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from a number of territories to ensure a ceasefire and threatened to occupy the Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
- Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that at the meeting, the Ukrainian and Russian sides discussed a prisoner exchange in the "1000 for 1000" format and a ceasefire. According to him, Moscow and Kyiv have reached an agreement on the exchange.
- On May 19, Trump spoke with Putin, as well as with Zelensky and a number of European leaders. Putin said after the conversation that he was ready to work on a memorandum with Ukraine that includes a ceasefire. Trump says that Russia and Ukraine “will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war”.
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