A new peace mission is being undertaken just days after a delegation of African leaders attempted to help bring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is heading to Moscow today (June 27) for the second leg of the mission wanted by Pope Francis.
Accompanied by a Vatican official, Cardinal Zuppi is expected to arrive in the Russian capital on Tuesday evening and to remain there until Thursday, Italian daily Corriere della Sera wrote.
The mission doesn’t aim to make the Vatican a direct mediator in the peace process but rather to “create the atmosphere” of peace beyond the “logic of war”.
A statement regarding the trip to Moscow read: “The main purpose of the initiative is to encourage gestures of humanity, which can contribute to facilitating a solution to the current tragic situation and find ways to achieve a just peace.”
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While in Russia, the cardinal is expected to meet Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, and Russian Government officials.
It is not yet clear whether the Vatican representative will also meet Putin.
Earlier this month, the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a meeting between the cardinal and the president was not scheduled.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, Putin has remained deaf to the Vatican’s pleas for peace and hasn’t spoken with Pope Francis.
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Ahead of his departure, the cardinal said: “We will do all we can, in full agreement with the Holy Father, with patience but also urgency, as every day that passes means further sufferance.”
Cardinal Zuppi’s trip to Moscow comes more than three weeks after he concluded the first leg of his peace mission.
Between June 5 and 6, the cardinal visited Ukraine, where – among other engagements – he met Mr Zelensky and prayed for the victims of the Bucha massacre.
Mr Zelensky stressed during the encounter that a ceasefire would not automatically lead to peace, which he believes can only be achieved by agreeing to the red lines dictated by Kyiv.
They include the return of all Russian-held Ukrainian territories to Kyiv and the evacuation of Russian troops from Ukraine.
Following the high-profile meeting, the Ukrainian president wrote on Telegram: “We discussed the situation in Ukraine and humanitarian cooperation in the framework of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.
“Only united efforts, diplomatic isolation and pressure on Russia can influence the aggressor and bring a just peace to the Ukrainian land.
“I call on the Holy See to contribute to the implementation of the Ukrainian peace plan. Ukraine welcomes the readiness of other states and partners to find ways to peace, but since the war is on our territory, the algorithm for achieving peace can be Ukrainian only.”
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