Pope would support Ukraine peace deal, says Hungarian ambassador

Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen suggested the Pope could play “an important role” in supporting a peace deal.

Hungary’s Ambassador to the Holy See said Pope Francis might support a peace deal for Ukraine backed by Donald Trump and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. However, he said he did not think the European Union and Nato would favour such a deal.

“For the last years, Hungary has been fighting a lonely fight for immediate ceasefire and peace in Ukraine, Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen told The Independent last week.

“Being a direct neighbour and having a Hungarian minority inside Ukraine gives us a very clear vision. The only ally was the Holy Father Pope Francis, who spoke in the same direction and engaged in peace diplomacy.”

He said Trump’s victory in the US election gave this cause fresh impetus. “With the new President Trump, we have an ally who has clearly stated, even in his speech during election night, that he wanted to end the wars, which also means the one in Ukraine. This fills me with hope,” he said.

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Habsburg-Lothringen suggested the Pope could play “an important role” in supporting a peace deal, which would probably involve asking Kyiv to surrender territory to Russia.

During his presidential election campaign, Trump claimed he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours.

The ambassador’s remarks were published as western leaders renewed their support for Kyiv. On Sunday President Joe Biden, in his last weeks in office, allowed Ukrainian forces limited use of US-manufactured long-range missiles on Russian territory. This followed a Russian drone and missile attack over the weekend targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, which left at least ten people dead.

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, has said the Vatican’s position distinguished between its “diplomatic” and “moral” neutrality in the conflict.

“Rome maintains diplomatic neutrality, which allows the Pope to save lives,” he told La Croix.  “Each time I meet him, I bring lists of prisoners, the wounded … for him to help. But from a moral standpoint, the Vatican is indeed on Ukraine’s side.”

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