"The position of the Holy See is to seek peace and seek understanding" between the parties,
"the diplomacy of the Holy See is moving in this direction and, obviously, is always willing to mediate"
.
Pope Francis says so in an interview with the Jesuit magazine America.
"I even thought about going on a trip, but I made the decision: if I travel, I'm going to Moscow and Kiev, both, not just one place."
"Why don't I name Putin? Because it's not necessary, sometimes people get attached to a detail. Everyone knows my position", the Pontiff reiterated.
"It is known who I am condemning. It is not necessary for me to put my name and surname", he however explained. "When I speak of Ukraine, I speak of a martyred people. If you have a martyred people, you have someone who martyrs them
- underlines the Pope -. When I speak of Ukraine, I speak of cruelty because I have a lot of information on the cruelty of the troops entering. Generally, the cruellest ones are perhaps those who are from Russia but are not from the Russian tradition, such as Chechens, Buryats and so on. Of course, the one who invades is the Russian state. This is very clear. Sometimes I try not to specify in order not to offend and rather to condemn in general, even if it is known who I am condemning.
It is not necessary that I put my name and surname"
.
Bergoglio also confirms that he is mediating between Ukraine and Russia for the release of prisoners.
"I generally work with receiving lists of prisoners, both civilian prisoners and military prisoners, and have them sent to the Russian government, and the response has always been very positive
," he said.
When asked about the Holy See's offer of mediation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied: "We know that a number of statesmen and foreign countries declare themselves ready to help and, of course,
we welcome such political will. But in the situation we now have de facto and de jure from Ukraine, such interventions cannot be requested".
