Vatican diplomacy head in Moscow calls to end war in Ukraine

Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Holy See Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher during his visit to Moscow called to end Russia's war against Ukraine and start full-fledged negotiations with the support of the international community.

Gallagher stated this on August 25 after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The meeting was the first face-to-face talks between Vatican and Russian representatives at such a level in about five years.

“It must be said clearly: this war must end”, the Holy See representative said.

According to him, during the talks he reiterated Pope Leo XIV's appeal to cease hostilities and move to “genuine negotiations” with the assistance of the international community. Vatican's position is that achieving a settlement exclusively by military means is impossible and conditions must be created for political and diplomatic work.

Gallagher noted that each new day of war leads to new victims and at the same time complicates the possibility of future reconciliation. The longer hostilities continue, he said, the harder it will be to achieve an acceptable political solution, and the suffering of the population will increase.

Humanitarian issues were a separate topic of the talks. Gallagher and Lavrov discussed assistance to children affected by the war. The Vatican representative also recalled the need to comply with international humanitarian law regarding civilian population, civilian infrastructure, wounded and prisoners of war. 

The Holy See, according to Gallagher, intends to continue providing diplomatic and humanitarian support to efforts to end the war, including providing a platform for dialogue between the parties.

Gallagher's visit to Russia takes place from August 24 to 28. After meeting Lavrov, his program includes talks with representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate, and on August 26 a meeting with Russian presidential adviser on international affairs Yuri Ushakov. The Vatican representative will also meet with the Catholic community in Russia.

Based on materials from: Reuters, Vatican News