Zelensky rejects Pope mediation offer despite seeking support

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Vatican City on Saturday, alongside a number of military personnel, as he "sought support for Ukraine’s peace plan from the pontiff," according to AP.

However, when Pope Francis offered to help Zelensky negotiate with Russia to achieve a sustainable peace plan, the Ukrainian President rejected it.

“With all due respect to His Holiness," Zelensky told Italian talk show host Bruno Vespa following his meeting with the pontiff, "we don’t need mediators, we need a just peace."

Moreover, the Ukrainian President said "It was an honor for me to meet His Holiness, but he knows my position: the war is in Ukraine and the [peace] plan must be Ukrainian,” claiming “You can’t mediate with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”

Zelensky's position appears to align with two "victory resolutions" put forward by a group of hawks from both parties in the US Congress which, according to Responsible Statecraft, are set to drive the conversation about the "extent of US Ukraine policy and support ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive this spring."

The suggested resolutions argued two main points. Primarily they denote that the US fully backs the argument that victory in Ukraine cannot be achieved until Kiev restores its 1991 borders; meaning the restoration of not just the Donbass region, but also Crimea.

The officials in Kiev, Responsible Statecraft highlighted, would be thrilled to hear that the US fully supported Ukraine in restoring its 1991 border. However, at a time when Ukraine lacked the capabilities "to achieve those goals on the ground," the RS report argued, the US would be sending a dangerous message that "seems more likely to blow up in the faces of both Washington and Kyiv."

This overly ambitious definition of "victory" would inevitably prolong the war.

Zelensky sought to close the gap between Vatican and the West regarding war in Ukraine

In an opinion piece for The Atlantic, American journalist and religious researcher John Allen Jr. wrote that Pope Francis stands against the West's supply of arms to Ukraine.

"Understood in this light, Francis’s position previews the future of the Church as a geopolitical force, one that will be far less acquiescent to the West," he said. 

According to the author, the Pope blamed NATO for "barking at Russia's door" in an interview for Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper, while the piece's author demonstrated the Vatican's changing traditional philosophy.   

Allen further argues that even Catholics living outside the West don’t view the war the same as Europe and the US. 

In an interview for the Italian-Swiss TV RSI in March, Pope Francis argued that the war in Ukraine has been driven by "imperial interests", stressing that "not just of the Russian empire, but of empires from elsewhere."

The Pontiff also voiced his readiness to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged for peace.

However, The Holy See press office released a statement in August 2022 saying that Pope Francis' statements regarding the conflict in Ukraine should not be taken as a political position, but as a "voice in defense of human life."

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