ROME, June 5. /TASS/. The visit to Kiev by Papal peace envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi will give the Holy See the opportunity to gather information about Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s ten-point peace formula, the ANSA news agency said on Monday, citing a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman.
"It will help the State of Vatican City get more information about Zelensky’s ten-point peace settlement formula," the agency cited the ministry official as saying. According to the ANSA source, Ukraine expects the Holy See to help it return Ukrainian children who, as Kiev claims, were illegally taken to Russia.
It was previously reported that Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), as his special envoy for peace in Ukraine.
Zelensky was received by Pope Francis on May 13. He reportedly presented his peace plan. However, he said in a televised interview later that Kiev did not need mediators but a "fair peace" on the basis of his plan.
Addressing the Group of Twenty summit in November, 2022, Zelensky said that Kiev had a "plan to achieve peace" consisting of ten points. Among them are nuclear, food and energy security, and an "all-for-all" exchange of "detainees," as well as the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. He stressed that Kiev insisted on international security guarantees and had drafted a relevant document. He also said that Ukraine wanted an international mechanism to be established to get Russia to pay for the losses it has incurred as a result of hostilities.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Moscow has never refused to negotiate but dialogue on the situation around Ukraine was only possible if Russia’s legitimate interests and concerns were taken into account.