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Vatican ready to offer its turf for talks on Ukraine — newspaper

The Vatican has repeatedly stressed the Holy See's readiness to do everything possible to establish a dialogue between Russia and Ukraine

Pope Francis AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Pope Francis

© AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

ROME, November 8. /TASS/. The Vatican is ready to play the role of mediator in talks between Moscow and Kiev and offer its territory as a neutral venue for peace talks in which other parties, in particular the US and the EU, could also take part, the La Stampa newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Reportedly, this willingness became known after a meeting between Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron on October 24.

On Sunday, the pontiff, speaking about the Ukrainian crisis, pointed out that "the Vatican is constantly closely monitoring" the development of the situation, with the Holy See doing everything necessary and achieving much. In particular, he said, "there are efforts in progress to bring [the positions] closer together, to find solutions, and the Holy See is doing what it has to do." According to Francis, the Vatican "has held many confidential meetings that have yielded good results."

The Vatican has repeatedly stressed the Holy See's readiness to do everything possible to establish a dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. However, on November 4, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that there was no progress in the matter suggested by the French president on involving the Pope in the mediation of the negotiation process between Moscow and Kiev.

Earlier, a TASS correspondent reported, citing Vatican sources, that there was no news either about the possibility of a meeting between Francis and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the pontiff would like to hold, or about contact with the Russian Orthodox Church regarding the organization of a previously postponed meeting with Patriarch Kirill.

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