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Vatican refutes reports about possible mission to Moscow

Pope Francis mentioned the Vatican's "peace mission" on Ukraine, "not yet public," in late April when he was on his way back from Budapest, but gave no details

VATICAN CITY, May 19. /TASS/. The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches has refuted reports that its prefect, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, could allegedly be involved in the Vatican's peace mission.

"News about the peace mission of the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti has reached a global scale. We inform you that the prefect knows nothing about this," the Dicastery said in a press statement on Friday.

The Vatican’s Il Sismografo news portal said on Thursday citing unnamed sources that Moscow and Kiev had allegedly accepted Pope Francis’ proposal to receive his special envoys to discuss a possible ceasefire. Gugerotti was named as a possible envoy to Moscow while Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, president of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI), could be the one to go to Kiev.

TASS sources in the Vatican called these reports "nothing if not amusing" but "verified by no one."

Pope Francis mentioned the Vatican's "peace mission" on Ukraine, "not yet public," in late April when he was on his way back from Budapest, but gave no details.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who was received by the Pope last Saturday, said that Kiev did not need any mediators.

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