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Pope urges Ukraine to have courage for negotiations with Russia, Zelensky reacts strongly

2024-03-11 18:41:20Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Pope urges Ukraine to have courage for negotiations with Russia, Zelensky reacts
Pope Francis in a previous meeting with the Ukrainian president in the Vatican

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Pope Francis' calls for talks with Russia, while Ukraine's foreign minister said his country would never capitulate.

“When the Russian villainy started this war on February 24, all Ukrainians rose to defend themselves. All Christians, Muslims, Jews, everyone. I thank all Ukrainian religious representatives with the army, with the defense forces, on the front line, who protect life and humanity. They support us with prayers, words, and deeds. This is what the church means to people. Not 2,500 kilometers away, mediating from a distance between someone who wants to live and someone who intends to destroy you,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Monday that Pope Francis' call to end the war in Ukraine is quite reasonable and that Russia is ready to sit down to talk, but that Kiev is rejecting talks because of the mistaken impression that the West can defeat Russia.

"It is quite reasonable that he (the Pope) spoke in favor of negotiations," stated Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "Unfortunately, both statements - the pope's and the repeated ones of other parties - including ours, have recently been met with strong rejection."

Russian spokesman Peskov said the situation on the battlefield showed that the West's hopes of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia were misplaced.

"This is the deepest misunderstanding, the deepest mistake, and the course of events, especially on the battlefield, is the clearest proof," he said.

Pope Francis stated in an interview with a Swiss media that Ukraine must have what he called the courage to raise the "white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia, two years after Moscow's large-scale attack that left tens of thousands dead.

Pope Francis made the comments during an interview with Swiss television RSI over the weekend after being asked his stance on the debate between those who say Ukraine should surrender because it has failed to repel Russian forces and those who say it has. to do so would legitimize the actions of the more powerful party.

The interviewer used the words "white flag" in the question posed.

"It is one of the interpretations, it is true," the pope declared, according to a copy of the transcribed interview and part of the footage provided to the Reuters news agency on Saturday. The full interview will be broadcast on March 20 as part of a cultural program.

"But I think the most powerful is the (interpretation) that takes into account the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage to raise the white flag, and negotiate," declared Pope Francis, adding that the talks should be held with the help of international powers.

His comments came weeks before Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan proposed Friday to hold a meeting between Ukraine and Russia to end the war.

The Turkish president made this proposal after meeting in Istanbul with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, who said that although he wants peace, he does not agree to give territory.

"Negotiation is a brave act. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you must have the courage to negotiate," according to him.

This is believed to be the first time Pope Francis has used the words "white flag" or "defeat" when discussing the Ukraine war, although he has spoken in the past about the need for talks.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement that the pope used the words "white flag" as the interviewer, using them in the context of "the cessation of hostilities and the ceasefire achieved through the courage to negotiate."

Last year the 87-year-old Pope sent a peace envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to Kiev, Moscow and Washington to understand the positions of the leaders of these countries.

“One can be put in position,” the Pope said of the negotiations, “but how many will die because of the war? It is necessary to negotiate in time, to look for a state that can become a mediator," declared Pope Francis, mentioning Turkey as one of the countries that has offered mediation.

"Don't feel ashamed to agree to negotiate before things get worse," declared the pope, who has made hundreds of appeals for what he calls "martyred Ukraine." Asked if he is willing to mediate, Pope Francis replied: "Here I am."

In another part of the interview, while talking about the war between Israel and Hamas, the Pope said: "Negotiation is never surrender."

 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also expressed his opposition to the Pope's statements.

He said that "if we want a lasting negotiated peace settlement the way to get there is to provide military support to Ukraine."

Secretary Stoltenberg said that "what happens at the negotiating table is inseparable from strength on the battlefield."

"This is not the time to talk about the surrender of the Ukrainians. It would be tragic for them and very dangerous for all of us," he declared.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Platform X that a stable person in any dispute "must stay on the right side and not try to equalize the sides and call them 'negotiations'."

"Our flag is yellow and blue," Mr. Kuleba wrote, referring to the Ukrainian flag. "This is the flag by which we live, die and triumph. We will never fly other flags."


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