The Pope’s envoy for the war in Ukraine, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, will be in Moscow between Wednesday and Thursday on a peace mission commissioned by Francis, the Vatican announced Tuesday.
“The main objective of the initiative is to promote gestures of humanity that can contribute to a solution to the current tragic situation and find ways to achieve a just peace,” according to the Vatican.
This trip to Russia comes three weeks after Cardinal Zuppi’s visit to kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky.
So far, the Vatican has not released Cardinal Zuppi’s agenda in the Russian capital. The Pope’s envoy will be able to meet with the Orthodox Patriarch, Cyril I, in favor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022. N
It is not yet known whether a meeting between Zuppi and Russian President Vladimir Putin is planned. In kyiv, the papal envoy held several meetings and heard President Zelensky reaffirm that he will not accept any cessation of hostilities that does not include Russia’s withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.
In response, Moscow said that the kyiv authorities had to adapt to the new reality. Ukraine and Russia still engaged in talks in the first months of the war, but without success.
So far, all initiatives for the two sides to resume dialogue have failed.
Source: TSF
