Zelenskyy dismisses Pope Francis’s call for Ukraine to negotiate peace with Russia

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rebuffed the Pope’s appeal for Ukraine to engage in peace talks with Russia, dismissing it as “virtual mediation.”

During his nightly video address, Ukraine’s president refrained from directly mentioning Pope Francis or his proposal but asserted that the ideas presented had no correlation with the efforts of religious figures within Ukraine.

“They support us with prayer, with their discussion, and with deeds,” he stated. “This is indeed what a church with the people is. Not 2,500km away, somewhere, virtual mediation between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you.”

The leader of the Catholic Church had urged Ukraine to exhibit “the courage of the white flag,” emphasizing that the strongest individual is one who considers the situation, thinks about the people, and courageously engages in negotiations.

In an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI, Pope Francis suggested that Kyiv should not hesitate to communicate with Vladimir Putin’s regime “before things get worse,” asserting that “the word negotiate is a courageous word.”