Pope Leo asks Putin for ‘gesture of peace’ on first call

It was the first direct conversation between a pope and the Russian president since Putin called Pope Francis in December 2021, two months before the invasion of Ukraine.

Pope Leo XIV spoke to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, asking him to make “a gesture that would favour peace”.

A statement from the Vatican said they had discussed humanitarian relief and aid supplies to the victims of the war in Ukraine, with the Pope “emphasising the importance of dialogue to create positive contacts between the parties and seek solutions to the conflict”.

It was the first direct conversation between a pope and the Russian president since Putin called Pope Francis in December 2021, two months before the invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin described the conversation as “constructive”, building on what it called “Pope Francis’ immense personal contribution to strengthening the ties between Russia and the Holy See”.

“While exchanging views with the Pope on the situation in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his willingness to achieve peace through political and diplomatic means, pointing out that in order to reach an ultimate, fair, and thorough resolution, it was necessary to eliminate the root causes of the crisis,” the Kremlin statement said.

This followed the failure of a second round of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to agree a ceasefire.  The talks in Istanbul concluded on Monday with agreement on a prisoner exchange and the Moscow delegation receiving a list of 400 abducted Ukrainian children whom Kyiv demanded be returned from Russia.

Speaking to the Italian daily La Stampa after the end of the talks, the Vatican’s secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin said it remained “available so that enemies may meet face to face” and seek a peace “founded on solid principles of international law, justice and freedom, not an fragile balances maintained by arms”.

“The failure of the Istanbul summit cannot and must not mark the end of efforts to stop the war,” he said. “The Holy See, faithful to its mission of peace, renews its call to resist the logic of violence and the false realism that views war as inevitable.”

True peace, he said, “arises from deep, respectful, and serious dialogue” and must be agreed “without humiliations, without conditions that leave open wounds”.

The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk had complained that the Russian negotiators’ exclusive concern with territory meant the talks lacked “any real discussion of human rights”.

Speaking on Ukrainian television last week, he said Russia’s refusal to recognise “the sovereignty of our people and our right to exist” undermined the negotiations: “If Ukraine supposedly has no right to exist, what kind of peace agreement with Ukraine can there be?”

He voiced particular concern about religious freedom in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, where Ukrainian Catholic parishes have reportedly been suppressed and the institution itself banned.

“Who will speak about our inherent right to profess the faith into which we were born – even in those territories under temporary occupation?” he asked. “I would like everyone involved in the negotiations – even those pressuring Ukraine – to acknowledge the dignity of the people who live here.”

The Vatican statement following the Pope’s conversation with President Putin confirmed they discussed prisoner exchanges and the work of the Archbishop of Bologna Cardinal Matteo Zuppi as papal peace envoy, which has included efforts to return abducted children from Russia. The Kremlin statement said Putin “emphasised that the Russian side was taking all possible measures to reunite children with their families”.

The Kremlin also reported his claim that Ukraine was “banking on escalating the conflict and carried out sabotage against civilian infrastructure in Russia’s territory”.

In a comment on social media, the Ukrainian political scientist Yurii Pidlisny of the Ukrainian Catholic University said the conversation was part of Putin’s efforts “to convert his diplomatic losses into wins” and “to alter the diplomatic stance of the current pope”. Pope Leo’s first international call after his election was to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Putin also delivered a message to Pope Leo from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, and expressed hope “that the Holy See would be more active in speaking out in support of freedom of religion in Ukraine” in response to restrictions on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, historically tied to Moscow.

The Vatican said the Pope thanked Kirill “for the congratulations received at the beginning of his pontificate, and underlined how shared Christian values can be a light that helps to seek peace, defend life, and pursue genuine religious freedom”.

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