Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he believed "it would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances."
Following the election of the new pope, several of Ukraine's partners, including the United States, suggested that the Vatican could become a neutral platform for further peace talks.
Zelensky presented the pope with a special icon, "Mother of God with Child," painted on a fragment of a box that held heavy artillery in the war-torn town of Izium.
Asked whether the Vatican could act as a peace broker, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he "wouldn’t call it broker, but it’s certainly — I think it’s a place that both sides would be comfortable going."
The Ukrainian delegation present in the Vatican included the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who congratulated Pope Leo XIV on his election.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people," Zelensky said.
The pope said he was praying to God to grant the world the "miracle of peace."
While serving as a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, called the full-scale war "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power."
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include comments from a 2022 interview, given while Robert Prevost was Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru. With the announcement that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been chosen as the new pope and leader of the Catholic Church, Ukrainians are wondering what the surprise
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