Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a personal conversation with Pope Francis Saturday on the Vatican, where the 2 discussed plans to end the war with Russia.
Zelensky said he sought support for his peace plan from the pinnacle of the Catholic Church.
The Pope had previously said that the Vatican was prepared to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine.
“I also spoke about our Peace Formula because the only effective algorithm to achieve a just peace” Zelensky said after the meeting.
In an interview with Italian state television, Zelensky said that the pope “knows my position. There may be a war happening in Ukraine, so Ukraine’s plan should be to bring peace.
The ten-point plan proposed by Zelensky can be to establish a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes, create a Euro-Atlantic security structure with guarantees for Ukraine, and rebuild Ukraine’s damaged energy infrastructure.
The plan also called for security around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia.
The Holy See, the federal government of the Catholic Church, said in an announcement that throughout the meeting, which lasted about 40 minutes, the Pope and Zelensky “discussed the humanitarian and political situation in Ukraine attributable to the continued war.”
According to the statement, the couple “also agreed on the necessity to proceed humanitarian efforts to support the population.”
After the meeting Zelensky thanked Francis on Twitter for “personal interest in the tragedy of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.”
He added that he also spoke to the pope “concerning the tens of 1000’s of deported (Ukrainian) children. We must do our greatest to send them home.”
The meeting got here after Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal asked the pope for help in trying to get the youngsters from Russia back to Ukraine, although the Vatican’s statement made no mention of the request for help.
As a substitute, the Vatican said the couple discussed the political and humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
“The Pope stressed in particular the urgent need for ‘humanitarian gestures’ towards probably the most vulnerable people, the innocent victims of the conflict,” the statement reads.
Before meeting with the pope, Zelensky met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who, along with other Italian officials, pledged unlimited military and financial support for Ukraine.
“The message is obvious and easy,” Meloni told reporters after the meeting. “The long run of Ukraine is the longer term of peace and freedom. And that is the longer term of Europe, the longer term of peace and freedom, for which there are not any other possible solutions.
Zelensky also met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who also declared his support for Ukraine.
Italy has already provided Ukraine with about $1.1 billion in military aid for the reason that start of the war in February last yr.
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