Lavrov Responded Very Politely: What Pope Francis Says

Pope Francis addressed the Russian-Ukrainian war and the Vatican's efforts to end it during a conversation with journalists. According to vaticannews.va, the pontiff recounted that one day after the war began, he visited the Russian embassy to speak with the ambassador, who, according to the pope, is a "good person."

“I told him that I was willing to go to Moscow to speak with Putin if needed. Lavrov responded very politely: 'Thank you, but there is no need at this moment,'” the Pope recalled.

Since that time, he has spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the phone twice and several times with the ambassador.

While expanding on the theme of the war, the Pope stated that “the cruelty does not come from the Russian people, since the Russian people are a great people.”

“This comes from mercenaries, soldiers who go to war as an adventure, mercenaries... I prefer to think this way because I have high regard for the Russian people, for Russian humanitarianism. Just think of Dostoevsky, who still inspires us, inspires Christians to think about Christianity. I have a lot of warmth for the Russian people and also for the Ukrainians. When I was eleven years old, we had a priest who... taught me to serve the liturgy in Ukrainian, and I know all those Ukrainian songs in their language because I learned them as a child. So, I have a lot of love for the Ukrainian liturgy. I am between two peoples whom I love,” the Pope said.