Pope Francis believes that “all the great powers” have met in the fighting in Ukraine, and that there are “imperial interests not only of the Russian Empire”, but also of other states. Excerpts from his interview published RSI TV channel, the full version of the conversation will be released on March 12.
“All the great powers met there. The battlefield is Ukraine. Everyone is fighting there <…> And there are imperial interests there. Not only Russia, but also other empires,” Francis said.The pope noted that he was ready to negotiate with Vladimir Putin, calling the president of Russia an educated person. The pontiff also said that on the second day of the conflict, he visited the Russian embassy and said he was ready to go to Moscow, asked Putin to "leave a window for the meeting" .“(Foreign Minister Sergei) Lavrov wrote to me 'thank you, but now is not the time.' Putin knows that I am available,” the pope explained.As for the conflict in Ukraine itself, the sovereign pontiff described it as "the third world war".“In just over a hundred years, three world wars have taken place: 1914-1918, 1939-1945, and this is also a world war. It started in pieces,” he said.According to the pope, the fights have become a means of selling old weapons and testing new weapons. “This is the market. Wars are fought, old weapons are sold, new ones are tested,” the pontiff stressed.In a fragment of the interview, Francis also referred to the last meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Day and admitted that his resignation could be caused by "a fatigue that does not allow to see things clearly" and "a inability to assess the situation". "Pope Francis is not the first time to comment on what is happening in Ukraine. In August 2022, following criticism for speaking out about the death of Darya Dugina, whom he called an "innocent victim" of the conflict, the pontiff condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine. In September, he called the supply of arms to Ukraine "morally acceptable" if used in self-defense. In November 2022, the pope said the Vatican was ready to mediate and do everything possible to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Responding to the question whether the pontiff believes in the possibility of reconciliation between Moscow and Kiev, Francis noted that no one should give up.
