Earlier, on June 4, Pope Leo also had a direct phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In this message, according to the Vatican’s statement, Pope asked Putin to take specific steps to put an end to the war that interrupted many victims of the civilian population and Ukraine was damaged.
Although the Vatican now openly announces his readiness to conduct a peaceful dialogue, the Russian side still has doubts. A number of Russian officials quoted by Reuters believe that the Vatican is less neutral, given its position in the center of Italy – NATO members and active supporters of the European Union sanctions against Russia.
It is interesting that this proposal of the pope strengthened the previous statement of US President Donald Trump in May last year, which said that Pope Leo proposed a Vatican as a potential place for peaceful negotiations. But at that time there was no direct confirmation from the holy throne to the official statement today.
