Pope Francis said in a Feb. 5 interview with Corriere della Sera that he was open to meeting both Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He said he didn’t go to Kyiv earlier because it wasn’t possible to come to the Ukrainian capital then.
The pope added that he wanted to go to Moscow to talk to Putin at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had postponed it.
Pope Francis called for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine during his traditional Christmas Day address on Dec. 25.
“May the Lord inspire us to offer concrete gestures of solidarity to assist all those who are suffering, and may he enlighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the thunder of weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war,” he said.
On Dec. 14, Pope Francis asked people to spend less on Christmas celebrations, using the savings to help Ukrainians through a very difficult winter.
