Russia does not consider the Vatican as a serious place for peace negotiations with Ukraine, as the Holy See is the residence of Catholicism and is surrounded by Italy, a member of NATO and the EU, Reuters reports, citing three high-ranking Russian sources, noting that Russian sources said they consider Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman as potentially suitable venues for negotiations, UNN writes.
Details
They also note that many Russian officials cannot even fly to the Vatican due to Western restrictions.
So far, the Vatican has remained publicly silent about the idea expressed by US President Donald Trump after a conversation with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin that Pope Leo XIV could hold talks aimed at ending the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, the publication notes.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said last week that Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff born in the United States, had confirmed his willingness to hold talks during a phone call with her.
"The Vatican is definitely not perceived in Russia as a serious force capable of resolving such a complex conflict," said one high-ranking Russian source familiar with the Kremlin's views at the highest level, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Among the reasons cited by the three sources were "the fact that both Russia and Ukraine are predominantly Eastern Orthodox countries, while the Vatican is surrounded by NATO member Italy, which has supported Ukraine and repeatedly imposed sanctions against Russia."
The Kremlin and the Vatican did not respond to requests for comment. When asked last week about the idea of the Vatican, the Kremlin said that a decision had not yet been made.
Russian sources stressed that it would be very difficult for most high-ranking Russian officials to even get to the Vatican from Moscow, as direct flights were cancelled after the start of the war on February 24, 2022, and many EU sanctions are in place against Russian officials.
One of the Russian officials sarcastically remarked that the only place to hold the event better than the Vatican would be The Hague - the location of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes.
Putin's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday that the idea of the Vatican as a potential arena for peace talks was "somewhat inelegant" given that Russia and Ukraine are Eastern Orthodox countries.
Russian sources said they "consider Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman as potentially suitable venues for negotiations." Putin has repeatedly praised the Arab Gulf states and Turkey for their attempts to mediate an end to the war.
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Earlier, Pope Leo XIV stated that the Vatican is ready to host the next round of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is considering the possibility of a high-level meeting - Ukraine, the USA, Russia, Great Britain, and the EU. According to him, such a meeting may take place in Turkey, the Vatican, or Switzerland.
On May 16, the first direct negotiations in more than three years between the Ukrainian delegation, headed by Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, and the Russian delegation, headed by advisor to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin Vladimir Medinsky, took place in Istanbul. The parties stated that they had reached a number of agreements, including an exchange of prisoners in the "1000 for 1000" format.