Vatican ‘unsuitable’ venue for Ukraine-Russia talks, says Lavrov

‘It would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances.’

Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the Pope’s offer to host talks between Russia and Ukraine in the Vatican was “unrealistic”.

Lavrov voiced doubts on Friday about the proposal despite growing international interest, including from US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“It would be a bit inelegant for Orthodox countries to use a Catholic platform to discuss issues on how to remove the root causes [of the conflict],” said Lavrov, speaking at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow. He added that “it would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances”.

Earlier this week, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed that Pope Leo XIV remained interested in hosting the next round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, following a telephone conversation with him on Tuesday where she affirmed Italy’s readiness to facilitate contacts between the new Pope and world leaders.

“President Meloni, having received confirmation from the Holy Father of the readiness to welcome the next round of talks between the parties in the Vatican, expressed her deep gratitude for Pope Leo XIV’s openness and for his tireless commitment to peace,” said a statement from Meloni’s office.

The Italian prime minister was the latest world leader to express support for the Vatican’s initiative, which was first shared by the Vatican’s secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin after Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass on Sunday.  It followed an unsuccessful meeting in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian officials. 

After speaking to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for over two hours on Monday, President Trump announced a fresh round of talks: “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war,” Trump said in a social media post, acknowledging the Vatican’s interest in hosting the talks.

However, diplomatic sources expressed scepticism about Russia’s interest in the Vatican’s offer, while the apostolic nuncio to Ukraine Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas said it was an “hypothesis”.

“The big unknown on this issue is Russia’s position,” Archbishop Kulbokas told The Tablet, shortly before Lavrov’s remarks.  “At least, I have no data at the moment on what the Russian authorities think about this hypothesis.”

During a meeting with Lavrov in Moscow earlier this week, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow said he was willing to engage in dialogue with the Vatican regarding Christian persecution and moral values, as well as peacekeeping and humanitarian concerns. 

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