The Kremlin on Monday agreed with Pope Francis’ comments in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI that Ukraine should have the “courage” to negotiate with Russia two years after Russia invaded the country.
“It’s completely understandable [the pope] Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters he supported the talks.
Peskov said that President Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia is open to peace negotiations. “Unfortunately, the Pope’s statement and repeated statements from other parties, including ours, have recently been met with an absolutely harsh rejection,” he said.
Putin essentially offered to freeze the battlefields on the current front lines, but Ukraine rejected that option.
Such a deal would mean giving up more than one-sixth of Ukraine’s territory occupied by Moscow.
Peskov said the West’s desire to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia was the “most profound misunderstanding”, adding: “The course of events, mainly on the battlefield, is the clearest evidence of this.”
However, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said now was “not the time to talk about white flags”. Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Stoltenberg said talks would only take place if Ukraine’s status as a sovereign and independent country was preserved and Putin realized he would not win on the battlefield.
“If we want to reach a peaceful and lasting negotiated solution, the way to do that is to provide military support to Ukraine,” the NATO chief said.
“This is not the time to talk about Ukrainians surrendering. It would be a tragedy for Ukrainians,” he said. “It will also be dangerous for all of us because the lesson Moscow learned is that when they use military force, when they kill thousands of people, when they invade another country, they get them Something you want.”
Kyiv on Sunday criticized Francis’ call for Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the pope was engaging in “virtual mediation.”
In a video address Sunday night, Zelensky thanked Ukrainian religious leaders who are on the front lines “protecting life and humanity” and showing support through “prayer, dialogue and action.”
“This is the Church,” he said, “with the people. Less than two thousand five kilometers away—somewhere, looking for a virtual place [mediation] Between those who want to live and those who want to destroy you. “
The German Bishops’ Conference said in a statement on its website that it was ultimately Ukraine’s decision and “after careful consideration, the time has come for peace negotiations”.
The German bishops said: “The fact that Pope Francis did not mention the issues raised here in his interview has caused the anger of many observers, and we can understand this. It would be too much if the Holy See provided substantive clarification on its position. Okay.” These questions. “
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni responded to the criticism on Sunday, saying the pope urged “a cessation of hostilities” [and] “An armistice achieved through the courage of negotiations” rather than an outright capitulation by Ukraine.
Francis was asked in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI last month about the debate between those who advocate peace talks in Ukraine and those who believe those talks would legitimize Russian aggression.
“I think the strongest people are the ones who look at the situation, think about the people, have white-flag courage and negotiate,” Francis said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also criticized the pope’s remarks on social media, saying: “Our flag is the yellow and blue flag. It is the flag of our life, death and victory. We will never raise it. raise any other flag.”
Meanwhile, political wrangling in the U.S. Congress has stalled a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine’s ammunition-starved army.
Russia is now preparing to produce nearly three times the amount of artillery ammunition for Ukraine than the United States and Europe, it was reported on Monday. CNN reports Based on NATO intelligence.
According to defense analysts, for every artillery shell fired by Ukraine on the front lines, Russia fired five or six. This imbalance limits Ukraine’s ability to suppress Russian attacks and provide cover for the movement of its troops.
Western experts say that although Russia has increased its weapons production and can maintain a much higher rate of fire than Ukraine Moscow also faces some restrictions and has turned to North Korea to bolster its ammunition supplies.
The Russian military said on Monday it had thwarted multiple attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russian territory.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defense systems destroyed four drones over the Bryansk region, two over the Orel region and another Ukrainian drone over the Belgorod region.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry issued an alert on Monday warning of Russian air strikes in the Donetsk, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions.
Information for this report was obtained in part from Reuters, the Associated Press and AFP.
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