Pope Francis announced his readiness to meet with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the President of the Russian Federation Volodymyr Putin.
This was reported by Corriere della Sera.
"I am open to a meeting with both the presidents of Ukraine and Russia," Francis said.
He explained that he did not go to Kyiv because there was no opportunity to go at that time, but he recalled that he went to the Russian embassy on the second day of the war.
"I wanted to go to Moscow to talk to Putin, and it seems that a small window appeared, but Minister Lavrov told me: 'See you later'... This gesture was not thought out, and what was not thought out, cannot be repeated," said the Pope.
He emphasized that "this war is in Putin's hands, it could be stopped by the withdrawal of troops and a ceasefire, and then negotiations on long-term agreements."
Last December, during the weekly joint audience, Pope Francis again recalled the ongoing war in Ukraine and compared it to Nazi Germany's World War II operation against the Jews.