Pope Francis still insisted on meeting with Vladimir Putin. Photo by AFP
Pope Francis has revealed that he has requested to travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ask him to stop the war in Ukraine, but has not yet received a response from the president.
According to the maximum pontiff explained in an interview published by the newspaper Corriere della Sera20 days after the attack began, he asked Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, to let Putin know he was ready to go to Moscow.
“We are still not receiving an answer and we insist, although I am scared No and Putin does not want to have this meeting just now, “he explained.
Meanwhile, he indicated that visiting Ukraine is not in his plans so far: “I feel like I don’t have to go. First I had to go to Moscow and meet with Putin. But I am a priest, what can I do? I do my best. If Putin opens the door … “, he advanced.
Regarding the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in this battle, he pointed out that he did not know if Putin’s “anger” was caused by the existence of the Atlantic Alliance, but he insisted that “it facilitated it.”
Pope Francis continues to insist on meeting with Vladimir Putin. Photo by AFP.
On whether it is lawful to send weapons to Ukraine to defend themselves against aggression, he opined: “I am too far removed from the question of whether the Ukrainians are right to provide. What is clear is that Weapons are being tested in that land. The Russians now know that tanks are of little use and are thinking of other things. “
“The arms trade is a scandal, very few oppose it. Two or three years ago, a ship arrived in Genoa full of weapons that had to be moved with a large cargo to bring them to Yemen. Port workers do not want to do this. They said: let’s think of the children of Yemen. It’s a small thing, but a nice gesture. There must be a lot like this … “he added.
On the other hand, he denied that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, could cooperate in Putin’s arrest, because, in the first 20 minutes of the videoconference they had, “developed all the justifications for war“.
Pope Francis assured “he is pessimistic” about the progress of the war between Russia and Ukraine
“I have a scheduled meeting with him in Jerusalem on June 14. This is our second presence, nothing to do with the war. But now he also agrees that The meeting can be mixed signals“, he explained.
In addition, he announced that in his recent meeting with Hungarian president Victor Orban, he assured him that the Russians “have a plan and that on May 9 it will all be over“.
“I hope so, so we would also understand the speed of escalation these days. Because now it’s not just Donbas, Crimea, Odessa, it’s taking away Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea, that’s all. I’m pessimistic but we must take all possible action to stop the war, “he stressed.
With information from EFE
DB
Source: Clarin
