Pope Francis has sent Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi to Ukraine on a two-day trip to discuss prospects for peace with the government in Kyiv, the Vatican said on 5 June in a brief statement, The New York Times reports.
The Vatican said the cardinal’s main goal was to “listen thoroughly to Ukrainian authorities regarding the possible ways to reach a just peace and foster gestures of humanity that contribute to ease up tensions.”
“It was not immediately clear who the cardinal would be meeting and there was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian government, which has expressed skepticism about the pope’s attempts to position himself as a potential mediator in the 15-month war,” NYT says.
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Tags: Ceasefire, peace talks, Pope Francis, Vatican