2023-05-13 15:29:00
Selensky and Pope exchange gifts
©APA/AFP
During his visit to Rome, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was received by Pope Francis on Saturday. The 40-minute conversation took place in the presence of an interpreter, according to the Vatican.
“The Pope and Zelenskyy agree that humanitarian efforts to support the population must continue. The Pope particularly stressed the urgent need for gestures of humanity towards the most vulnerable people, the innocent victims of the conflict,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said following the meeting.
Pope Francis presented the President of Ukraine with a small sculpture depicting an olive branch, the symbol of peace. The President of Ukraine presented the pontiff with an icon of the Mother of God painted on the remains of a bulletproof vest. “Thank you for this visit,” said the pope as he greeted Zelenskyy. “It’s a great honor,” the President replied.
The arrival for the talks with Pope Francis was delayed by a good hour because Selenskyj had previously met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The conversation had lasted longer than planned.
The meeting between the pope and the Ukrainian president did not take place in the Apostolic Palace, as is usual with heads of state, but in the so-called Auletta – a room next to the Vatican’s audience hall.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression once morest Ukraine, the Pope has been committed to a peaceful solution to the conflict. He had not ruled out a trip to Kiev. It was the pontiff himself who spoke of a possible Vatican peace mission between Russia and Ukraine. Something is going on, Pope Francis surprisingly told the world press on April 30 in the airspace between Budapest and Rome. But he didn’t want to say more regarding it.
Zelenskyj also met with President Sergio Mattarella in Rome on Saturday. “We are for peace, our victory is peace,” emphasized Zelenskyy. The Italian President underlined: “The peace for which we are all working must restore justice and international law. It must be real peace and not surrender”.
“Ukraine’s future is a future of peace and freedom in Europe,” said Meloni, who guaranteed Ukraine full support with arms supplies and humanitarian aid.
After his reception with Pope Francis in the evening, the Ukrainian President will be interviewed by star journalist Bruno Vespa for the RAI 1 channel.
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