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Pope Francis sees prospects for peace talks on Ukraine — head of Union of Old Believers

According to the pontiff, Ukraine is afraid that financing may stop as soon as potential negotiations start and, thus, Kiev would like to see Western guarantees

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. Pope Francis said he could see prospects for peace talks in Ukraine as he pressed the West to provide more funding for the reconstruction of Ukraine, rather than for more weapons, Leonid Sevastyanov, chairman of the World Union of Old Believers (WSU), said, recounting his audience on Tuesday with the Roman Catholic pontiff.

"I had an hour-long meeting with the pope, and we discussed negotiations. The pontiff said that, with talks ongoing across various channels, he has succeeded in persuading America and the European Union. He is demonstrating to them the need for negotiations and believes that he has made much progress on that path," Sevastyanov told TASS. According to him, the United States has already been prodding Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for talks.

According to the pontiff, Ukraine is afraid that financing may stop as soon as potential negotiations start and, thus, Kiev would like to see Western guarantees. "America and Europe should give Ukraine guarantees that they would continue financing the restoration of Ukraine, but that should be tied to the start of negotiations under the condition that they will receive funds only after negotiations start not for weapons, but rather for reconstruction purposes only," Sevastyanov explained. "The pope is facing this task now, and he is trying to make his position clear here. The pope is seeing every signal that all parties [the United States and the EU] are inclined to hold talks," he added.

Earlier, Pope Francis urged diplomats accredited to the Holy See to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine through talks. According to him, this conflict must not be allowed to last longer, and go on harming millions of people. It is necessary "to put an end to the ongoing tragedy by means of talks in compliance with international law," the pontiff emphasized.

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