Pope Francis arrived this Tuesday in Kazakhstan, which shares one of the world’s longest land borders with Russia, and is dedicating his first words to calling for a return to peace, in reference to the war unleashed by Moscow in Ukraine.
The Pope, who today embarked on a three-day visit to Kazakhstan to participate in the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, called for peace and underlined in his maiden address to the country’s authorities that this trip takes place on a time when “a senseless and tragic war arises, caused by the invasion of Ukraine”.
Kazakhstan is separated from neighboring Russia by a border of seven thousand kilometers.
In Nursultan, the capital of this former Soviet republic where thousands of Russians and Ukrainians live, the pope recalled that there are “several clashes and threats of conflict that endanger the present time”.
In his first public act after meeting President Kasim-Ymart Tokáyev, Francis presented himself to the authorities and the diplomatic corps gathered in the Qazaq Concert Hall “as a pilgrim of peace, seeking dialogue and unity”.
“Our world urgently needs this, it has to find harmony again,” he defended.
The pope recalled that Kazakhstan, which also borders China, “is a crossroads of important geopolitical crossroads, thus playing a fundamental role in mitigating conflict”.
Kazakhstan has remained neutral on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which began on February 24, after it offered to mediate at the start of the war.
The Pope “John Paul II came here to sow hope, right after the tragic attacks of 2001,” Francis recalled, referring to the September 11 attacks in the United States.
“Now I come to this country when a senseless and tragic war rages over the invasion of Ukraine and while other clashes and threats of conflict endanger our time,” he said. added.
“I come to amplify the cry of so many who beg for peace, an essential path of development for our globalized world.” he added, stressing that “the need to broaden diplomatic commitment to dialogue is becoming increasingly urgent”, as “the problem of some is now the problem of all”.
According to the leader of the Holy See, “those who have more power in the world have more responsibility, especially towards the countries most exposed to the crises caused by the logic of conflict”.
The time has come for Pope Francis to “avoid the intensification of rivalry and the strengthening of opposing blocs”, and therefore, the Pope stressed, leaders who are able to understand and dialogue and who are willing strengthening multilateralism is necessary.
“This requires understanding, patience and dialogue with everyone. I repeat, with everyone,” he concluded.
Source: DN
