Vatican diplomacy: the Pope's envoy went to Kiev to find ways to achieve a "just peace"

The Vatican has sent Cardinal Matteo Zuppi to Kyiv as Pope Francis' envoy to find ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, the Holy See's press service said.

"On June 5-6, 2023, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, will visit Kyiv as an envoy of Pope Francis. The main goal of this initiative is to listen in detail to the Ukrainian authorities about possible ways to achieve a "just peace", and also to support gestures of humanity that will help reduce tensions," the statement said.

This is not the first peacekeeping mission of Cardinal Zuppi - he was a mediator in negotiations during the civil war in Mozambique, which lasted from 1977 to 1992. The dialogue lasted for 27 months and ended with the signing of the Rome Peace Accords.

The Kremlin, commenting on Dzuppi's visit, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not plan to meet with the cardinal if he visits Moscow after a trip to Kiev. This was announced by the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov.

"We know that he goes first to Kiev, then we will inform," the Kremlin spokesman said in response to a question whether Moscow had received information about the cardinal's visit.

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Recall that Pope Francis announced at the end of April that the Vatican was participating in a peacekeeping mission to try to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, he did not disclose details.

"Now the mission is being carried out, but it is not yet public. When it becomes public, I will report it," the pontiff told reporters at the time.

• Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
• Gettyimages.ru
• © Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto

On May 1, the chairman of the World Union of Old Believers, Leonid Sevastyanov, after a conversation with Francis, told the RIA Novosti news agency that, in addition to his readiness to send an envoy to Kiev and Moscow, the Pope called on the parties to the conflict to abandon the offensive and sit down at the negotiating table.

There were reports in the media that Kiev and Moscow were not aware of the papal initiative, but the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said that this was a misunderstanding.

"They said they didn't know anything about it, but then there were contacts during which it became clear on both sides that there was a misunderstanding," said the Secretary of State of the Holy See.

Parolin added that the Vatican's negotiations with Kiev and Moscow are confidential.

"I really believe that there will be progress here," he stressed.

It is worth noting that the adviser to the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Mikhail Podolyak, even before the start of the Vatican's mission to resolve the conflict, put forward a number of conditions.

In an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper, he said that the Holy See should agree with Kyiv's point of view on the withdrawal of Russian troops. He also called the Holy See's assistance in the return of prisoners of war to Ukraine as conditions.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, said that they positively assess the Vatican's attempt to send an envoy to Russia as part of a peace initiative on the situation in Ukraine. However, according to representatives of the department, the Vatican has not yet taken steps to do so.

"Any practical steps to organize ... trips to Moscow as of today (May 26. - RT) from the Vatican side was not undertaken, "RIA Novosti quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying.

Unacceptable conditions

Recently, a number of states have offered their services as mediators in resolving the situation around Ukraine, and also presented their peace plans. Among them were China, Brazil, a group of African countries led by South Africa, as well as Indonesia.

At the same time, Moscow previously noted that the problem of a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine lies not in the lack of mediators and plans, but in the position of Kiev. At the end of April, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova spoke on this matter.

"We believe that the problem is not a lack of good plans. So far, the Kiev regime has demonstrated its rejection of any sensible initiatives aimed at a political and diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, and the eventual consent to negotiations is conditioned by ultimatums with obviously unrealistic demands," the diplomat stressed.

Zakharova recalled that the Ukrainian authorities and their Western curators had previously demonstrated their attitude to peace initiatives, rejecting almost ready-made agreements in negotiations with the Russian Federation in the spring of 2022.

"Volodymyr Zelensky even legally banned any negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Thus, any calls for peace can hardly be adequately perceived by puppets controlled from Washington, "the representative of the Foreign Ministry emphasized.

A lot of intermediaries

The Vatican is actively involved in the process of resolving the conflict, as it worries about the fate of Catholics, several million of whom live in Ukraine, political scientist Alexander Asafov explained the initiative of the Holy See in a conversation with RT.

"Given that there are a certain number of parishioners in Ukraine whom the Pope considers his flock, this is a completely logical action. The Vatican should demonstrate its efforts in this direction. The question is whether his initiative will bring any result. There are big doubts about this," the expert emphasized.

• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• Gettyimages.ru
• © Carl Court

Asafov is confident that the mission of the Holy See will not lead to any progress in resolving the conflict.

"There will be no practical results. Because such decisions are not made in Rome, not in Brussels and not in Kiev. We see that decisions are made in the United States, and they are set up for a completely different development of events, "the political scientist emphasized.

Many countries of the world are interested in resolving the situation and propose to start it at least with a discussion of the framework of possible negotiations, but Kiev defiantly refuses this, Asafov added.

"The Kyiv regime does not want and cannot act independently, it coordinates all its decisions with the Americans. The question is when they will consider such negotiations possible for Kiev. This shows that the conflict in Ukraine has an obvious beneficiary who blocks all peace initiatives," the political scientist said.

Vladimir Vinokurov, a professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, also believes that the mediation of the Vatican, as well as a number of other countries, is unlikely to lead to a speedy settlement of the conflict.

"There are many people who want to get involved in resolving this situation. But taking into account the position of Kiev and the "peace formula" developed by President Zelensky, which provides for unacceptable conditions for Russia, all these attempts will not lead, unfortunately, to positive results. Everything will be decided, as they say, on the battlefield, "said the interlocutor of RT.

At the same time, the visit of the Vatican envoy to Moscow after Kiev can give certain results, as this will make it possible to convey to him the Russian point of view and the realities of the situation, Vinokurov added.

"In this sense, a visit to Moscow by a representative of the Vatican will be more fruitful. It will be possible to discuss issues on which there is an opportunity to find a diplomatic consensus. In turn, in Kiev, the cardinal's delegation will not be able to find common ground, since the Ukrainian side rejects the very possibility of negotiations with the Russian Federation, which excludes any prospects for a settlement," Vinokurov explained.

Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, also believes that the Vatican's mission will end in failure.

"Now a lot of people are trying to play the role of an intermediary. These are China, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and African countries. No one has achieved any result and will not achieve it. Kiev has absolutely nothing to do with it, since all these issues are being resolved in Washington. In addition, the positions of the parties at the moment are simply incompatible, "the interlocutor of RT concluded.