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Updated Sunday, March 10, 2024-12:19

  • War in Ukraine The Pope asks Zelensky to have the "courage" to negotiate and denounces that the arms industry earns money "for killing"

  • Live Last minute of the war in Ukraine

After

Pope Francis asked

Volodymyr Zelensky

's government in an interview

to have "courage" to raise the "white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia, the Embassy of Ukraine to the Holy See responded that during the Second World War no one spoke "of peace negotiations with Hitler."

"It is very important to be consistent! When we talk about the Third World War, which we have now,

we must learn the lessons of the Second World War

," the diplomatic legation wrote on its social networks.

"Did anyone then seriously talk about peace negotiations with Hitler and the white flag to satisfy him? So the lesson is only one:

if we want to end the war, we have to do everything possible to kill the Dragon!

", he concludes. .

Pope Francis

advocated "negotiating", which is a "brave word",

to achieve an end to the conflict, in an interview with Swiss Radio Television, from which some excerpts were published this Saturday.

"I believe that he who sees the situation, who thinks about the people, who has the courage of the white flag, to negotiate is stronger. And today you can negotiate with the help of international powers. The word negotiate is a brave word" said the pontiff.

"When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you must have the courage to negotiate,"

added the Pontiff, who, speaking about the war in Gaza, said: "Negotiating is never giving up," at another point in the interview, which will be broadcast in full on March 20.

Clarification from the Vatican

After the interview was published, the Holy See clarified that

the Pope was not talking about surrender but rather about negotiation

, as stated by the Vatican spokesperson,

Matteo Bruni

, on the

Vatican News

site .

"The Pope uses the term white flag, and responds by taking the image proposed by the interviewer, to indicate with it the cessation of hostilities, the truce reached with the courage of negotiation. At another point in the interview, speaking about another situation of conflict, but referring to any war situation, the Pope clearly states: 'negotiation is never surrender,'" he said.

According to Bruni, "the Pope's wish remains the one he has always repeated in recent years (...): 'As I renew my deepest affection for the tormented Ukrainian people and pray for all, in particular for the countless innocent victims, I implore that we find that bit of humanity that will allow us to create the conditions for

a diplomatic solution in the search for a just and lasting peace

.'"