Can the pope replace Trump in the negotiations on peace in Ukraine

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who, after playing golf with Donald Trump, turned out to be one of the few European leaders with direct access to the White House, threw a bomb, assuming that new talks Russia-Ukrana may have next week.

True, at the technical level, but in a new place – in the Vatican, since in Istanbul the warring parties have failed to negotiate twice.

The new place is also nourished by an idea, launched by several European leaders and verbalized by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni – Pope Leo XIV to take the place of the US president as a mediator between the countries.

During a meeting with the Eastern Christian churches last week, he stated that the Holy See would give hospitality, but did not say anything about his personal participation in them.

Reuters

The idea is not new. Ukraine sought contact with the late Pope Francis at the beginning of the war. For various reasons, including Francis’ health problems, this did not happen, but the photo of Zelenski, talking to Trump in the Vatican at his funeral, seems to have revived the hopes for the role of the Vatican in the peace process.

What is going on behind the scenes

President Donald Trump, after his telephone conversation on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Pope Leo had suggested hosting the talks. He later added: « I think it would be great for them to be held in the Vatican. … I think that might make it alleviate some of the anger. »

Late on Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni posted a Facebook post that at Trump’s request, she had contacted the Holy Father and confirmed his willingness to host the conversations.

« I expressed a deep gratitude for his openness and his unwavering commitment to peace, » Meloni wrote.

The Vatican did not respond to the repeated requests for comment and has not yet clarified the « offer » of Leo XIV.

However, the American Washington Post writes that « the Vatican mediation or any other mediator has little chance of success. »

The reason is Russia’s chosen tactics of prolonged negotiations without stopping fighting, while Ukraine and Europe insist on a full 30-day stop of fire before the real conversations.

Closed Europe

The transfer of Russian-Ukrainian conversations to the Vatican is also facing logistical challenges. European sanctions and travel bans upset the Russians as to the extent to which the immunity of their senior officials could be guaranteed when landing in Italy or traveling to the Vatican, as most of them are prohibited from entering the EU.

The Washington Post writes that the Italian authorities have informed the Russians that, according to the Lateran Treaty of 1929, with which the Vatican State was created, their government must ensure the safe passage of diplomatic missions to the Vatican.

Olga Lyubimova’s unobstructed journey – Putin’s Minister of Culture, which is under sanction to attend Pope Francis’ funeral in April, was regarded as a successful test, the newspaper reports to its sources.

Legal experts say it remains unclear whether higher figures, especially Putin, will be covered by the Lateran Treaty.

The official Kremlin has been refraining from commentary for now. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the place of the subsequent negotiations was not determined and Moscow did not decide whether this could be the Vatican.

The Vatican’s print

In the last decade, the Vatican has committed to mediation in conflict with different success, Vatican diplomats made the path of President Barack Obama in Cuba in 2016, but the Holy See failed to negotiate an agreement between Nicolas Maduro and the political opposition in Venezuela.

Reuters

The pope as a mediator, of course, is extremely prestigious for both Putin and Volodimir Zelenski, but the influence of religion and religious values ​​as a factor should be overestimated, since none of the participants is a Catholic.

However, Pope Leo is also sought after for other conflicts. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has announced on Monday that during his audience with the Pope he asked the Vatican to host conversations between his government and the rebel group for National Liberation. The Vatican had previously contributed to the historical peace agreement of the Colombian government with a larger rebel group-the revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Washington Post recalls.

New hope

In an interview with the newspaper, the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See Andriy Yurash, who attended a meeting between Pope Leo and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski on Sunday, said the first Pope of the American expressed his best to help to stop the conflict without directly making a household proposal.

Zelenski on Monday publicly pointed to the Vatican, along with Switzerland and the current host – Turkey, as possible places for future negotiations.

« The Vatican is a symbol of the highest morals of free Western democratic civilization. … There is no doubt that it will be of great moral value, » if he hosts the negotiations, « Yurash told the Washington Post.

Pope American

Unlike his predecessor Francis, who strictly adhered to neutrality, with the exception of some remarks in support of Moscow, who were quickly parked by the Vatican, the new Pope Leo has a more categorical position in the war, especially personal.

As a bishop in Peru in 2022, he condemned Russian aggression, describing the war in a video as an « imperial invasion. » During the two weeks in which Pope is, he has repeatedly mentioned Ukraine. Both his first known official conversation, his first official meeting, were with Zelenski.

« I carry in my heart the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people, » Lion XIV said during his first Sunday blessing at St. Peter Square. « Let everything be able to achieve real, just and lasting peace as soon as possible. Let all prisoners be released and the children return to their own families. »