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Pope’s Offer Sparks Hope: Rubio Suggests Vatican as Venue for Russia-Ukraine Talks

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ROME (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that the Vatican could be a venue for
Russia-Ukraine
peace talks, taking up the Holy See’s longstanding offer after Pope Leo XIV vowed to personally make
“every effort”
to help end the war.

Speaking to reporters in Rome before meeting with
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
, the Vatican point man on Ukraine, Rubio said that he would be discussing potential ways the Vatican could help, “the status of the talks, the updates after yesterday (Friday) and the path forward.”

Asked if the Vatican could be a peace broker, Rubio replied: “I wouldn’t call it broker, but it’s certainly — I think it’s a place that both sides would be comfortable going.”

“So we’ll talk about all of that and obviously always grateful to the Vatican for their willingness to play this constructive and positive role,” said Rubio, who also met Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state and foreign minister.

The Vatican has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality and had long offered its services, and venues, to try to help facilitate talks, but found itself sidelined during the all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.

Pope Francis, who occasionally
provoked both Kyiv and Moscow with his impromptu remarks
, had tasked Zuppi with attempting to uncover avenues for peace. However, this mandate appeared too limited to effectively assist in the repatriation of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, and the Holy See also managed to mediate some discussions.
prisoner exchanges
.

At the meeting held at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Rubio expressed gratitude to Zuppi for the Vatican’s humanitarian efforts, specifically highlighting prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of Ukrainian children. According to U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, Rubio “underscored the significance of maintaining cooperation with the newly appointed Pope Leo XIV.”

Leo, who was elected history’s first American pope on May 8, took up Francis’ call for peace in Ukraine in his
first Sunday noon blessing
As Pope, he called upon everyone involved to make every effort to achieve “a genuine, fair, and enduring peace.”

Leo, who previously served as a bishop in Peru and referred to Russia’s conflict as an “imperialist invasion,” pledged this week to take personal action to “make
every effort
So that this peace may endure.”

During an address to Eastern Rite Catholics, such as the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine, Leo implored the conflicting parties to come together and engage in negotiations.

“The Holy See is always prepared to assist in bringing adversaries together, allowing them to confront each other directly and engage in dialogue, ensuring that people around the world can regain their rightful sense of worth and experience the tranquility they deserve,” he stated.

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, repeated the Vatican’s offer to serve as a venue for direct talks, saying the
failure of negotiations in Istanbul
to reach a ceasefire this week was “tragic.”

“We had hoped it could start a process, slow but positive, toward a peaceful solution to the conflict,” Parolin said on the sidelines of a conference. “But instead we’re back to the beginning.”

Asked concretely what such an offer would entail, Parolin said that the Vatican could serve as a venue for a direct meeting between the two sides.

“One would aim to arrive at this, that at least they talk. We’ll see what happens. It’s an offer of a place,” he said.

“We have consistently communicated to both parties that we remain ready to assist you, maintaining all necessary confidentiality,” Parolin stated.

The Vatican may have secured what could be considered itsghest
greatest diplomatic achievement
During Pope Francis’s papacy, he helped facilitate the discussions between the United States and Cuba in 2014, which led to the restoration of diplomatic ties.

The Holy See has frequently played host to various openly conducted diplomatic efforts, including the instance where it facilitated a meeting between opposing leaders from South Sudan back in 2019. This gathering became well-known through an iconic photograph showing Francis kneeling down.
kiss their feet
to implore them to cease hostilities.

Maybe one of the most distinctive aspects of the Holy See’s is
critical diplomatic initiative
occurred at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis when, in autumn 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev authorized a covert installation of nuclear weapons in Cuba. These missiles were quickly identified by American surveillance aircraft.

As the Kennedy administration deliberated on how to respond, facing the specter of nuclear conflict, Pope John XXIII called for peace through a public radio broadcast, during an address to Vatican envoys, and via private letters to both Kennedy and Khrushchev, urging them to consider the welfare of their citizens and de-escalate tensions.

Numerous historians attribute the role of Pope John XXIII’s appeals in assisting both parties to retreat from the edge of nuclear conflict.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s
collaboration
with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Nicole Winfield and Matthew Lee, The Associated Press

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