Pope Francis has expressed readiness to travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and help end the war in Ukraine.

In an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper, the Pontiff said that on the first day of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, he had a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but abstained from calling Putin.

The Pope indicated that he had gone to the Russian Ambassador in Italy, asking for an explanation and calling for ending the operation.

"Then, after twenty days of war, I asked [Holy See Secretary of State] Cardinal [Pietro] Parolin to convey to Putin a message that I was ready to go to Moscow," he mentioned.

According to Pope Francies, "Of course, it was necessary that the Kremlin leader provided several windows. We have not yet received an answer and we continue to insist, even if I am afraid that Putin cannot and does not want to hold this meeting right now."

The pontiff added that he is not going to visit Kiev yet, as he must go to Moscow first.

It is noteworthy that nearly one month into Moscow's special operation in Ukraine, Zelensky asked the Pope to intercede in his country's crisis with Russia.