MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. Ukrainian opposition lawmaker Alexander Dubinsky said the country’s government is heading to an impasse by dismissing any proposals for peace settlement, like the one that was made by Pope Francis recently.

"The state machine is repeating the same propaganda mistake that it made with the '1991 border.' After convincing the public this goal is unalterable, the authorities are now struggling to find reasons to explain the need to change it," the lawmaker said on Telegram. "With the refusal to negotiate, it may happen that propaganda and its leaders will drive themselves into the same wall."

According to Dubinsky, the response to Pope Francis' statement again highlighted "the inability to read and analyze primary sources, which did not talk about capitulation, which riled everyone so much." Dubinsky said the tense tone of the comments from top officials "will surely become a subject of tension with the Vatican."

On Monday, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said, following a meeting with the Vatican's nuncio in Kiev, Visvaldas Kulbokas, that "Ukraine is disappointed by the pontiff's words." Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky effectively rejected the pope's proposal on peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine as he described it as "virtual mediation."

In a recent interview with the Swiss broadcaster RSI, Pope Francis called for internationally-mediated talks on Ukraine. The pontiff said, "When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you need to have the courage to negotiate." He said talks would prevent the worst and avoid more deaths. In the interview, he used the phrase "white flag," which many news media interpreted as a call for Kiev to surrender. However, the Vatican said the Pope’s message was that negotiations mean courage rather than capitulation.