Speaking about a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, Pope Francis addressed the West, which is using this country as a tool to achieve its goals, says Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

“I see it this way: the Pope is asking the West to give up its ambitions and admit a mistake,” the diplomat said in a conversation with reporters.

At the same time, Zakharova recalled that Russia, for its part, has never blocked negotiations with Ukraine.

Francis clause

Let us recall that on March 8, in an interview with the Swiss television and radio company RSI, Pope Francis called for the start of the negotiation process on Ukraine with the involvement of international mediators.

“The word “negotiations” is bold.

When you realize that you are defeated, that things are bad, you need to find the courage (to start -

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) negotiations,” the pontiff said. 

According to him, today many countries offer to act as a mediator in the negotiation process between the conflicting parties, and to save lives, one should not be ashamed to negotiate.

At the same time, Francis in his response repeated the term “white flag” used by the journalist, calling for the avoidance of the worst scenario and new casualties.

However, the mention of the “white flag” caused a mixed reaction in the media and social networks, especially in Ukraine: there it was interpreted as a call for the surrender of Kyiv.

Ukrainian politicians criticized the pontiff for his position, and on the social network X, Ukrainians and their sympathizers began to spread cruel caricatures of the Pope.  

In response, the Vatican rushed to release a statement clarifying the pontiff's words and that he was calling for dialogue rather than capitulation.

“The Pope (Francis of Rome -

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) used the term “white flag”, picking up the image proposed by the interviewer, to designate the cessation of hostilities, a truce achieved through the courage (to enter into. -

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) negotiations.

In other parts of the interview, speaking about a different conflict situation, but implying any wars, the Pope stated clearly: “(Start. -

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) negotiations do not mean giving up,” the Vatican news portal quotes the words of Matteo Bruni, director of the press service of the Holy See.

However, despite the Vatican’s explanation, Kyiv continued to criticize the head of the Catholic Church.

On March 10, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that Ukraine would not raise any flag other than its own.

“Our flag is blue and yellow... We will never raise other flags,” Kuleba wrote on the social network X.

  • Dmitry Kuleba

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  • © Efrem Lukatsky

At the same time, commenting on the pontiff’s words, Kuleba added: “If we talk about the white flag, we have known that the Vatican adheres to such a strategy (also -

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) since the first half of the twentieth century.”

The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry did not explain what he meant, but called on the Holy See not to repeat historical mistakes.

In turn, Maria Zakharova sarcastically commented on Kuleba’s words about “other flags” in Ukraine: “He lies like he breathes.

We didn’t join the EU, but the flag has already been hung up everywhere,” she wrote in her Telegram channel.

Vatican mission

The Holy See has previously tried to take part in resolving the situation in Ukraine.

The Pope announced the Vatican's peacekeeping mission at the end of April 2023, but did not provide details.

At the same time, both Kiev and Moscow then stated that they knew nothing about this initiative.

Nevertheless, the Vatican hastened to clarify that this is not a refutation of the intentions of the Holy See.

After this, in early May, the Pope received Vladimir Zelensky.

Then many media outlets noted that the head of the Kyiv regime grossly violated etiquette during a meeting with the pontiff: he entered the office first, instead of letting Francis through.

In addition, Zelensky sat down in the chair at a time when the pontiff was still standing.

In addition, the leader of the Kyiv regime continued to sit in his chair even at the moment when one of Francis’ advisers wanted to shake hands with him.

Journalists also did not ignore the behavior of the Kyiv guest during communication with the pontiff.

According to them, Zelensky behaved indecently in a conversation with the Pope, pointing out his wrongness and constantly correcting him.

Despite this, in June the Vatican announced that it had sent Cardinal Matteo Zuppi to Kyiv as an envoy of the Pope to find ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. 

Subsequently, the cardinal visited Moscow, where Russian Presidential Assistant Yuri Ushakov met with him, and Patriarch Kirill also received him. 

At the same time, as the Russian Foreign Ministry noted, the problem of a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine lies not in the lack of international mediators and plans, but in the position of Kyiv, which actually put forward an ultimatum to Moscow with obviously unrealistic demands.

Humanism position

The head of the Center for Global Studies and International Relations of the IAMP of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Vadim Kozyulin, in a conversation with RT, recalled that peacekeeping activities are a long-standing domain of the Vatican, and Francis’ statement was sent to both Kyiv and the West.

“The Pontiff constructs his statements as if he were addressing all of humanity, speaking from a position of humanism.

These are conciliatory words from a church minister, a call for negotiations, which sooner or later ends any conflict,” the expert noted.

  • RIA News

  • © Alexander Kryazhev

However, the Kiev regime, fueled by the West, is not ready for humanism and the preaching of the Pope, says Vadim Kozyulin.

“Kyiv had high expectations last summer about which direction this conflict might go.

In addition, Ukrainians are constantly warmed up in the West with statements of support until complete victory.

It is no longer so easy for them to stop, and Kyiv can no longer sit down at the negotiating table after everything has been done and said.

For example, what should they do with the ban on negotiations that they themselves adopted at the legislative level?

Ukrainians, spurred on by the West, have driven themselves into a trap and now do not know how to get out of it.

That’s why people in Kyiv react so painfully to signals sent, including from the Vatican,” said RT’s interlocutor.

As Vladimir Olenchenko, a researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, noted, the Pope definitely addressed the West.

“The Pontiff did not give his interview to some Ukrainian publication - then one could assume that the statement was addressed to Ukraine.

But the Pope spoke with European and Swiss media.

And this is no coincidence, because the Swiss are now toying with the idea of ​​holding a summit on the so-called peace formula for Ukraine.

As you know, this event is planned without the participation of Russia and with a predetermined agenda.

Of course, the pontiff knows about this,” the political scientist explained.

The Vatican is not just a place on tourist postcards, but a participant in international relations, added Vladimir Olenchenko.

“This can be regarded as a signal to the West that it is time to lift all restrictions on negotiations.

In addition, they need to be made broad and independent mediators should be allowed to reach them, and not carry out all this under the auspices of the United States and on the basis of the Ukrainian “peace formula,” the expert believes.

However, so far the West has not shown any signs that it is ready to stop using Ukraine as a tool for realizing its plans and ambitions, says Vladimir Olenchenko.

“Will they listen to the Pope?

It is doubtful, and in this situation the pontiff himself must be aware of this.

But now he is abdicating responsibility for the future failure of negotiations under the auspices of the West without Russia’s participation and for the fact that they did not want to listen to him,” summed up RT’s interlocutor.