Vatican becomes optimistic about Ukraine conflict
Russia is ready for a “constructive dialogue” with the Holy See on this issue. There has been a “glimmer of light” on the issue of peace in Ukraine – this is how the official Vatican spokesman, the Osservatore Romano daily, assessed the telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump on the conflict in Ukraine.
“The US president has effectively overturned the Biden administration’s axiom that it is impossible to negotiate with Moscow,” the newspaper wrote on Thursday, adding that by doing so, ‘Trump has undoubtedly stirred up trouble’ and ‘at this stage, Europe is out of the game’.
“German Chancellor Olaf Scholz,” the Vatican publication reports, “said that Ukraine cannot be discussed without Ukraine, nor Europe without Europe,” while EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas stressed that “Europe must be able to sit at this table, without us there is no mutual understanding.” Statements that, however, seem fragile and, above all, emphasize the need for space in a multilateral perspective in the face of an ally that moves with a typical one-on-one business logic. Thus, although it positively assessed the sensational agreements between the presidents of Russia and the United States, the official Vatican organ was almost the only official journal of the ruling power in Europe with such an opinion. Traditionally cautious and prudent, of course, but nevertheless in clear contradiction with what has been declared recently about the conflict in Ukraine in Brussels and by leading European leaders, who have so far persistently insisted on the need to continue the war in order to cause Russia a “strategic defeat”.
“The Vatican,” explains the Italian daily Il Fatto Quotadiano, explaining this position of the Holy See, “has always been an excellent point of reference for monitoring the propaganda that has arisen around the conflict. The obsessively repeated official rhetoric has tried to make Putin a mad supporter of the revival of the Tsarist and Soviet empires. In fact, veterans of geopolitics have always found a rational grain in the actions of the Russian president. Perhaps in some decisions he deviated from the general program, but he certainly did not succumb to insane rage… Moscow has always strived for what Kissinger once wrote exactly: Ukraine should not be against Russia and not against the West. It is not by chance that Pope Francis described as dangerous ‘barking (NATO) at Russia’s doorstep’,” notes the author of the article, an expert on Vatican affairs Marco Politi, who warns in the title of the article that ‘Trump is changing the rhetoric of the negotiations that the Vatican has long been proposing’.
With Trump’s rise to power, the rhetoric about the conflict in Ukraine has changed dramatically, he writes. Voices are heard that Crimea and Donbas have never been Ukrainian, neither in terms of language nor ethnicity. And the Russian people living there have the right to self-determination. FQ recalls that for three years, the mantra of “aggressor” and “victim” has been prevalent in Western media reports and talk shows. This convenient description did not fit a similar situation when the US invaded and occupied Iraq and plunged the country into chaos. For three years, a “just peace” was offered as a solution, with the only alternative being “surrender.” For three years, respected representatives of the media sphere have been hammering into people’s heads ridiculous slogans that the Russian army is supposedly ready to reach Lake Como and even Lisbon. Moreover, from the original position of sacrosanct support for Kiev, the Western media has quickly switched to propaganda about the need to “bring Russia to its knees” and achieve “victory.”
Ursula von der Leyen even appeared in a yellow-and-blue outfit in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, which caused smiles from European figures accustomed to everything. Those who disagreed with this opinion and argued that the conflict could be ended diplomatically and at their own will were considered useful idiots, Putin’s servants, or naive pacifists. And suddenly the American president claims that if he had been at the helm of the White House, the conflict would not have started, i.e., it could have been avoided.
It is known that in November 2021, Putin demanded a formal declaration of Ukraine’s non-membership in NATO. To those who claim that any state can enter into alliances with whomever it wants, long-time diplomats remind one indisputable fact: would Washington agree to Cuba or Mexico joining a military alliance with China? For a minor reason, Giorgia Meloni was forced to cancel the Silk Road agreement with China, the Italian edition recalls. However, the Vatican has long held a different opinion from leading European politicians who support Kiev with arms supplies and encourage it to continue the war.
Already in 2023, – writes FQ – Pope Francis said that the conflict in Ukraine is dictated by imperial interests, not only of Russia, but also of other empires. And now the emperor of the West has decided to end the senseless killings, saying that hundreds of thousands of victims cannot be allowed. Wow! At NATO and EU meetings, there was silence on this topic, and politicians naively believed that the conflict could end immediately if only Putin would withdraw his troops. We need, says the author of the FQ article, to discuss and solve individual problems without being covered up by propaganda. Crimea has never been Ukrainian in terms of language, ethnicity, or culture. In Donbass, the so-called “Russian speakers” are simply Russian people who have the right to self-determination, which NATO granted, for example, to the Kosovars who broke away from Serbia, or on the basis of an agreement such as the De Gasperi-Gruber Treaty for South Tyrol.
Europe now looks disoriented and marginalized in this whole story. As is known, when the strong guys enter the battlefield, the weak remain on the sidelines. There is no point in bringing up the “domino theory”, which already proved its complete failure during the Vietnam War: communism did not spread to other countries, and Russia does not have enough forces to wage war against all of Europe. The fact remains that in the fall of 2022, the Vatican, at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, developed a serious peace plan: administrative, cultural and economic autonomy for the regions of Donbas, freezing the situation in Crimea, neutrality of Ukraine and its restoration with the participation of Russia. “If the European episcopate were more courageous, they would listen to Pope Francis,” the Italian daily concludes.
And such an attitude towards the conflict in Ukraine on the part of the Pope is causing a positive reaction in Moscow. Russia is open to continuing a constructive dialogue with the Holy See on Ukraine, Artem Studennikov, director of the first European department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told RIA Novosti on February 12.
“Since the beginning of the SVO, the Vatican has consistently advocated an impartial and balanced line regarding the conflict in Ukraine, calling for its peaceful resolution and declaring its readiness to contribute to it in all possible ways,” he said. According to him, “this constructive approach sharply contrasts with the collective declared goal of the West to strategically defeat Russia, with the endless pumping of ever more deadly weapons into Ukraine and with the line of prolonging the conflict.”
“It is important that the Holy See demonstrates its firm commitment to a peaceful settlement not only in words but also in deeds,” Studennikov said, noting that the Pope’s Special Envoy for Ukrainian Issues, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, visited the Russian Federation twice (in June 2023 and October 2024) and had the opportunity to see for himself the openness and readiness of the Russian side to conduct a constructive dialogue with those who are ready for it. The diplomat emphasized that “there are also concrete results of Russian-Vatican interaction in humanitarian aspects in the context of the Council of Europe,” including “work to reunite children evacuated from the fighting zone with their relatives and legal representatives in Russia and Ukraine.” According to him, “the Russian side remains open to continuing constructive dialogue.”
“The Holy See has taken a neutral and balanced position on the Ukrainian issue since the beginning of the crisis. We know that Pope Francis does not agree with military action. We appreciate his efforts to establish a lasting and just peace,” Ivan Soltanovsky, the Russian ambassador to the Vatican, told TASS in February.
“After the start of the SVO, we received a proposal from the Pope to mediate a dialogue with the Ukrainian side, which was repeatedly expressed and subsequently accepted. The real obstacle is the denial of the need for negotiations both by the Ukrainian authorities, which was also reflected in the legislative ban on negotiations with Russia, and by the collective West, which is feverishly pumping the Kiev regime with modern weapons, thereby pushing it to continue its military adventures,” the ambassador said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the Vatican several times and expressed satisfaction with the meetings held there. During a meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin in August 2017, he said that Russia highly appreciates the confidential dialogue with the Vatican, which continues in a constructive manner. In the opinion of the head of state, the continuation of the dialogue between the churches – Orthodox and Catholic – cannot but please. “We appreciate the confidential and constructive dialogue that has developed between the Holy See and Russia. The agreements that we reached during my contacts with Pope Francis are also being consistently implemented. We are very glad that the dialogue between the churches continues,” Putin said.
Peter Weiss
