Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Pope Francis during a meeting at the Vatican on Friday for help in securing the release of Ukrainians held captive by Russia.
Zelenskyy, who is touring major European capitals to discuss his proposed "victory plan" for the war with Russia, said he had also invited the Vatican to take part in a conference on the prisoners of war, due to be held in Canada later this month.
"We are counting on the Holy See's assistance in helping to bring back Ukrainians who have been taken captive by Russia," Zelenskyy said in a post on social media, adding this was the main topic of his 35-minute conversation with the pope.
A Vatican press statement provided no details about the pope's talks with Zelenskyy, but said a subsequent meeting between the Ukrainian leader and the Vatican's chief diplomat had included discussions "dedicated to the state of the war ... as well as the ways in which it could be brought to an end".
At the end of Friday's meeting, Pope Francis gifted Zelenskyy a piece of bronze artwork with a flower growing next to a bird, inscribed with the phrase "Peace is a fragile flower".
Zelenskyy in turn gave the pope an oil painting of the Bucha massacre, showing a child amid ruins in the Ukrainian town, which was occupied by Russian forces for 33 days in spring 2022. Ukraine and human rights organizations have said Russia committed war crimes during its occupation of Bucha.
In March this year, the pope drew the ire of Ukrainian officials when he suggested they should have the courage of the "white flag" to negotiate an end to the war. At the time Zelenskyy dismissed the pope's remarks as "virtual mediation" from a distance.
Francis, 87, has also criticized Ukrainian lawmakers' plans to ban activities of a Russia-linked branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which Kyiv accuses of spreading pro-Russian propaganda and of housing spies.
Western officials and Zelenskyy have said the war with Russia is at a critical juncture and Ukraine is keen for further support to try to change the balance on the battlefield to put itself in a strong position for eventual peace talks.
"We are counting on the Holy See's assistance in helping to bring back Ukrainians who have been taken captive by Russia," Zelenskyy said in a post on social media, adding this was the main topic of his 35-minute conversation with the pope.
A Vatican press statement provided no details about the pope's talks with Zelenskyy, but said a subsequent meeting between the Ukrainian leader and the Vatican's chief diplomat had included discussions "dedicated to the state of the war ... as well as the ways in which it could be brought to an end".
At the end of Friday's meeting, Pope Francis gifted Zelenskyy a piece of bronze artwork with a flower growing next to a bird, inscribed with the phrase "Peace is a fragile flower".
Zelenskyy in turn gave the pope an oil painting of the Bucha massacre, showing a child amid ruins in the Ukrainian town, which was occupied by Russian forces for 33 days in spring 2022. Ukraine and human rights organizations have said Russia committed war crimes during its occupation of Bucha.
In March this year, the pope drew the ire of Ukrainian officials when he suggested they should have the courage of the "white flag" to negotiate an end to the war. At the time Zelenskyy dismissed the pope's remarks as "virtual mediation" from a distance.
Francis, 87, has also criticized Ukrainian lawmakers' plans to ban activities of a Russia-linked branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which Kyiv accuses of spreading pro-Russian propaganda and of housing spies.
Western officials and Zelenskyy have said the war with Russia is at a critical juncture and Ukraine is keen for further support to try to change the balance on the battlefield to put itself in a strong position for eventual peace talks.
Source: Reuters
