Pope urges Ukraine to negotiate — RT World News
The Ukrainian government must have the courage to end the ongoing bloodshed through negotiations with Russia, Pope Francis told Swiss news agency RSI in an interview published on Saturday.
Host Lorenzo Bucella asked the Pope's thoughts on the debate in Ukraine among the people “Calling for the courage of surrender and the white flag” And those who claim that surrender would legitimize the use of force in the international arena.
“It's one explanation.” The Pope said. “But I believe that the strongest is the one who sees the situation, who thinks about the people, who has the courage of the white flag, and who negotiates.”
“When you see that you are defeated, and that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate.” Francis argued, adding “Negotiation is never about surrender, but about courage not to lead the country to suicide.”
“You may feel ashamed, but how many deaths will there be in the end? Negotiate in time, and look for countries to mediate.” The Pope said.
The Pope added that many countries want to help end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which entered its third year in February.
Ukraine and its Western backers insist that a peace settlement should only be achieved on Kiev's terms and have pledged to continue delivering arms to Ukraine for the sake of peace. “Whatever it takes.” Meanwhile, Russia stressed that no amount of foreign aid would change the course of the fighting.
Meaningful peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev effectively collapsed in the spring of 2022, with both sides accusing each other of making unrealistic demands.
Russian President Vladimir Putin then said that the Ukrainian delegation initially agreed to some of Russia's conditions during talks in Istanbul in March 2022, but then suddenly backed away from the agreement.
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