Pope Francis has urged negotiation and a ceasefire in Ukraine, sharing his thoughts after visiting a situation he described as a garden where no invitation was extended. In remarks delivered during an interview with a Spanish-speaking radio broadcaster, a diplomat connected to European diplomacy weighed in on the pope’s position, clarifying that while the pope’s call for peace is clear, recommending surrender would not be the same as backing peace efforts.
The diplomat emphasized that now is not the moment to urge Ukraine to surrender. On the contrary, the stance is to maintain support for Ukraine and to pursue avenues that could lead to an end to hostilities through dialogue, humanitarian aid, and international cooperation. This interpretation suggests a preference for sustained aid and diplomatic pressure to create favorable conditions for negotiations rather than capitulation.
In a separate interview conducted on March 9 with a Swiss media outlet, the pope reflected on the broader framework of conflict resolution. He stated that in any war, the side that faces defeat must summon the courage to acknowledge its position and to engage in peace talks. He also offered a metaphor: the one who raises a white flag demonstrates strength, signaling a willingness to pause fighting and seek negotiation, rather than surrendering without a path to reconciliation.
Following these comments, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded to the pope’s invitation to consider a white-flag moment and to pursue talks with Russia, expressing caution about the feasibility and timing of such negotiations and emphasizing Ukraine’s right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Meanwhile, reactions from Moscow and other Kremlin-associated voices were swift, with commentators and official spokespersons weighing in on the pope’s remarks and their implications for the Ukraine crisis. The exchanges highlighted a broad spectrum of interpretations—from viewing the pope’s call as a moral nudge toward dialogue to seeing it as a rhetorical signal that diplomacy must be pursued without compromising international law and national self-determination.—attribution: Vatican press office and Kyiv and Moscow observers.