Pope Francis said the possible return of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories is a “political problem” that must be resolved by both sides. The statement was the pontiff’s first public comment since being asked by Ukraine to support the Kiev peace plan, which calls for a full withdrawal of Russian troops.
In an interview with Telemundo, Francis did not call the full return of all territories a fundamental condition for peace, which Ukraine and many of its Western allies insist on.
A correspondent for a Spanish-speaking American television channel twice asked Francis whether Russia should return all occupied territories. He didn’t answer the question the first time, but when asked again, Dad said:
“It’s a political question. Peace will be achieved as soon as they can talk to each other face to face or through intermediaries… It’s a political question.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met the pope at the Vatican on May 13 and asked him to support the Kiev peace plan, which Zelenskyy has repeatedly said is not subject to revision.
The plan provides for the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the withdrawal of Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities, as well as the restoration of Ukraine’s national borders from 1991.
At the start of the war, the pontiff tried to take a more balanced approach in hopes of becoming a mediator, but then began to strongly condemn Russia’s actions, comparing them to some of the worst crimes committed against Ukraine. in Soviet times.
In an interview held in Rome on Thursday and aired on Friday, Francis said the Ukrainian side’s hopes for mediation had not yet materialized, but added that the countries supporting Ukraine had formed a “very strong” bloc.
Francis asked Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian episcopal conference, to lead a peace mission to try to end the war.
Zuppi, 67, belongs to the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Rome-based peace and justice group that brokered an agreement in 1992 that ended the Mozambican civil war that killed nearly a million people.
A diplomatic source said Zuppi would try to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin separately.
