UPD: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also rejected the Vatican as a venue for further negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. «It's a bit inelegant when Orthodox countries discuss issues concerning the elimination of the root causes [of the conflict] on a Catholic platform», — he explained.
US and European leaders are placing hopes on the Vatican to involve Russia and Ukraine in peace talks, after President Donald Trump stated that Pope Leo XIV showed interest in this idea. However, the agency Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that the Kremlin is not so interested in this. Key obstacles include tense relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as Italy's obligations to the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for Putin's arrest.
Russian officials do not plan for Vladimir Putin to travel to the Vatican or anywhere else for negotiations; instead, they are focused on technical-level talks that began in Istanbul last week. As one of the agency's interlocutors noted, returning to Turkey and to the figures involved in the Russia-Ukraine negotiations in 2022, Moscow sees as a confirmation of its previous position.
At the same time, according to Bloomberg, Washington has made it clear that it does not welcome the participation of Vladimir Medinsky, who previously led the Russian delegation in Istanbul, in the negotiations.
As the agency writes, Putin will not travel to Italy, a NATO country, for security reasons, and Russia does not consider the Vatican neutral in the conflict. The issue is further complicated by relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, led by Patriarch Kirill, a staunch supporter of Putin and the war in Ukraine. «According to sources, the Russian church opposes the Vatican's participation in peace talks, considering it a historical rival in Ukraine, which also did not criticize the authorities' closure of churches loyal to Moscow», — notes Bloomberg.
Earlier, Trump stated that new negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would take place in the Vatican in June, but Putin «is not ready for peace». Before this, the new Pope Leo XIV, in his first Sunday address, called for peace in Ukraine.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reported that Pope Leo XIV confirmed his readiness to host the next round of talks in the Vatican to try to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Photo: Press Service of the President of Ukraine