Ukraine rebuffs Pope Francis calling for talks with Russia
- Ukraine’s president, top diplomat push back at Pope’s ‘white flag’ remarks
- Russia’s military offensive in neighbouring Ukraine is now in its third year
Ukraine on Sunday rebuffed Pope Francis’s call to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the pontiff was engaging in “virtual mediation” and his foreign minister saying Kyiv would never capitulate.
Francis said that when things were going badly for a party to a conflict one had to show the “courage of the white flag” and negotiate.
The pope’s interview was believed to be the first time Francis has used terms like “white flag” or “defeated” in discussing the Ukraine war, though he has referred in the past to the need for talks.
Zelensky made no direct reference to Francis or his comments but mentioned religious figures helping inside Ukraine.
“They support us with prayer, with their discussion and with deeds. This is indeed what a church with the people is,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.