ROME, October 1. /TASS/. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Pope’s special envoy for Ukraine and head of the Italian Episcopal Conference has said that he hopes that his visit to Moscow will contribute to the process of the exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine.
"A very important aspect was my meeting with Ukrainian prisoner. We had an opportunity to speak with some of them to learn about the conditions they are being held in. We saw how much they want to return home and we hope that this visit will facilitate prisoner exchanges and such exchanges will continue in the near future," he told Italian journalists at Vatican’s embassy in Moscow.
According to Zuppi, during this visit, he discussed with Russian officials various humanitarian situations that require information exchanges. "Some of them are already being discussed directly by the sides, others - via the Holy See," he said, adding that other topics included issues of the missing, prisoner swaps, reunifications of families, and exchanges of civilian detainees. "We also discussed the difficult situation at some locations, such as Aleshki to explore all possible solutions to alleviate the terrible consequences for the population and provide as much assistance as possible in ensuring their safety, especially that of children," he emphasized.
The papal envoy paid a working visit to Moscow on September 28 through 30. During his stay in the Russian capital, he met with Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov, human rights ombudswoman Yana Lantratova, and children’s rights ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova. He also visited a detention facility for Ukrainian soldiers captured during the special military operation.
This was Zuppi’s third visit to Moscow since 2023. As he told TASS in an interview, his primary mission is to help find solutions to humanitarian issues.
In July, Zuppi visited Ukraine.