Vatican could be venue for Russia-Ukraine talks, Rubio says, as Pope Leo XIV vows to help end war
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 angered both Kyiv and Moscow with his off-the-cuff comments, had entrusted Zuppi with a mandate to try to find paths of peace.But the mandate seemed to narrow to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia, and the Holy See also was able to mediate some prisoner exchanges.During their meeting at the U.S.
Embassy in Rome, Rubio thanked Zuppi for the Vatican’s humanitarian role, citing in particular prisoner swaps and the return of Ukrainian children.Rubio “emphasized the importance of continued collaboration under the new leadership of Pope Leo XIV,” U.S.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.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 appealed...