Pope Leo recently had his first phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin since becoming the head of the Catholic Church. The Vatican confirmed the call took place on Wednesday, June 4. One of the main topics they talked about was the ongoing war in Ukraine.
It’s not very common for the Vatican to publicly talk about the Pope’s phone calls, but in this case, they decided to share some details. According to the Vatican, Pope Leo encouraged Putin to take real steps toward peace and to help bring the war to an end. This shows that trying to end the war in Ukraine is a top priority for the Pope right now.
The Kremlin also confirmed that the call happened. They said that Putin appreciated Pope Leo’s willingness to help resolve the situation. During the conversation, the Pope asked Russia to make a move that would show it wants peace. He also said it’s important for all sides to keep talking so they can find a solution together.
They also spoke about how civilians are being affected by the war and the importance of getting humanitarian aid to the people who need it most. The Pope mentioned the work being done by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who has been sent by the Vatican to help with peace efforts in Ukraine, including negotiating prisoner exchanges.
According to a report by Reuters, the Kremlin said Putin told the Pope that Ukraine is making the situation worse. He claimed that Ukraine is trying to escalate the war by attacking civilian areas inside Russia. Putin also insisted that the root causes of the war need to be dealt with before there can be peace. This seems to be a way of pushing Russia’s demands — such as Ukraine staying neutral and NATO not expanding further east.
Earlier in the week, former U.S. President Donald Trump also said he had a long phone call with Putin about the war. Trump mentioned that they spoke for about 75 minutes. He talked about recent attacks, including one where Ukraine reportedly destroyed several Russian warplanes. While Trump said the conversation went well, he admitted that it’s not going to bring an immediate end to the conflict. He suggested things might still get worse before they get better.
