Camilla Jessen
Western leaders have welcomed the new pope’s invitation.
Pope Leo XIV’s proposal to host direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine at the Vatican has been met with strong support from global leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and top European allies.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, speaking after a joint call with international leaders, confirmed that the pope’s offer was seen as a “positive” step toward launching meaningful peace talks.
“The Holy Father’s willingness to host negotiations at the Vatican was appreciated as positive,” Meloni said, according to AFP and Digi24.
The call included Trump, Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Meloni herself.
The discussion came shortly after a phone conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The goal of the call, according to Meloni, was to promote the “immediate start of negotiations” between Kyiv and Moscow that could lead to a ceasefire and ultimately “a just and lasting peace.”
“I Will Do Everything to Spread Peace”
Last week, Pope Leo XIV offered the Vatican as a neutral venue for talks, speaking directly to “belligerents around the world” in a message delivered before representatives of Eastern Christian churches.
The Holy See is available so that enemies can meet and look each other in the eye,” the pope declared. “I will do everything possible to spread this peace.
He invoked the suffering caused by conflicts across the globe — from Ukraine to the Holy Land, Syria, Lebanon, Ethiopia, and the Caucasus — urging leaders to act in the name of hope and dignity.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, confirmed to the media that the Holy See is ready to host a direct meeting between Russian and Ukrainian representatives.
It remains unclear, however, when or if such talks will take place.