Rejection of Vatican mediation efforts

2023-09-09 01:11:00

The Vatican has suffered a serious setback in its efforts to promote dialogue between the two warring parties, Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoljak rejected mediation by the Catholic Church on Friday on news channel 24 on the grounds that Pope Francis was “pro-Russian.” The Vatican has been trying for months to initiate talks between Kiev and Moscow with a special advisor.

Podoljak was referring to the Pope’s statements at the end of August. At that time, the head of the Catholic Church spoke of “Great Mother Russia” at a reception for Russian young people. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s confidant said: “It makes no sense to talk about a mediator under the name of Roman Pope when he takes a pro-Russian position that is obvious to everyone.” This had an “extremely negative” effect on the war. Podoljak added: “We are not receiving fair assessments of this war and the model of behavior from the Vatican.”

As a special representative of the Vatican, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi has been mediating between Moscow and Kiev for months. The Italian has already visited both capitals. The Pope himself repeatedly calls for peace in public appearances and regularly reminds us of the suffering of the Ukrainians. However, he does not directly name Russia as the aggressor. This cost the Argentine early support in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Zelensky said it was becoming increasingly difficult to obtain arms supplies for the fight against Russia. At a conference in Kiev, he said the counteroffensive launched three months ago would progress more quickly if the Ukrainian military received more effective weapons. The Ukrainian president emphasized that it would also be more difficult to enforce new sanctions against Russia.