Zürcher Nachrichten - Vatican's diplomatic arm eyes return to fore with Ukraine talks

EUR -
AED 4.325007
AFN 82.242498
ALL 97.861399
AMD 452.456982
ANG 2.107236
AOA 1079.744921
ARS 1461.909869
AUD 1.797604
AWG 2.122399
AZN 2.006382
BAM 1.954671
BBD 2.376677
BDT 144.396598
BGN 1.955486
BHD 0.443838
BIF 3506.77453
BMD 1.177475
BND 1.499102
BOB 8.134129
BRL 6.381095
BSD 1.177095
BTN 100.459829
BWP 15.590995
BYN 3.852093
BYR 23078.508139
BZD 2.364434
CAD 1.602537
CDF 3397.015527
CHF 0.934174
CLF 0.028542
CLP 1095.275848
CNY 8.437084
CNH 8.437609
COP 4709.946719
CRC 594.444035
CUC 1.177475
CUP 31.203085
CVE 110.201349
CZK 24.649307
DJF 209.261303
DKK 7.462017
DOP 70.447814
DZD 152.345163
EGP 58.120021
ERN 17.662124
ETB 163.360876
FJD 2.63725
FKP 0.862468
GBP 0.862742
GEL 3.203192
GGP 0.862468
GHS 12.182705
GIP 0.862468
GMD 84.19399
GNF 10209.103348
GTQ 9.05058
GYD 246.269849
HKD 9.242978
HNL 30.754237
HRK 7.533842
HTG 154.547454
HUF 398.545235
IDR 19066.851138
ILS 3.939761
IMP 0.862468
INR 100.67593
IQD 1541.976634
IRR 49601.130791
ISK 142.404269
JEP 0.862468
JMD 187.881482
JOD 0.834876
JPY 170.14454
KES 152.083112
KGS 102.970633
KHR 4729.268433
KMF 492.184923
KPW 1059.684191
KRW 1604.7339
KWD 0.359472
KYD 0.981033
KZT 611.295774
LAK 25364.811057
LBP 105466.644517
LKR 353.166016
LRD 236.008673
LSL 20.705941
LTL 3.476778
LVL 0.712243
LYD 6.340338
MAD 10.565398
MDL 19.828127
MGA 5296.828156
MKD 61.513502
MMK 2472.287743
MNT 4225.230904
MOP 9.517503
MRU 46.719016
MUR 52.927943
MVR 18.137516
MWK 2041.238342
MXN 21.94042
MYR 4.970167
MZN 75.311739
NAD 20.705501
NGN 1801.4664
NIO 43.314982
NOK 11.864285
NPR 160.730751
NZD 1.9446
OMR 0.452721
PAB 1.17712
PEN 4.173989
PGK 4.862192
PHP 66.473762
PKR 334.151398
PLN 4.24229
PYG 9380.382844
QAR 4.302215
RON 5.057495
RSD 117.165863
RUB 92.73008
RWF 1692.122651
SAR 4.415637
SBD 9.816519
SCR 16.618563
SDG 707.078009
SEK 11.259445
SGD 1.500461
SHP 0.92531
SLE 26.434748
SLL 24691.064337
SOS 672.697176
SRD 44.019944
STD 24371.353222
SVC 10.300051
SYP 15309.563345
SZL 20.688996
THB 38.138847
TJS 11.447388
TMT 4.132937
TND 3.429546
TOP 2.757769
TRY 46.973129
TTD 7.983219
TWD 34.059055
TZS 3116.429941
UAH 49.091645
UGX 4222.471502
USD 1.177475
UYU 47.242713
UZS 14781.46241
VES 128.902304
VND 30813.929528
VUV 140.274476
WST 3.063467
XAF 655.578346
XAG 0.031771
XAU 0.000353
XCD 3.182185
XDR 0.815468
XOF 655.578346
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.125976
ZAR 20.743081
ZMK 10598.691339
ZMW 28.514925
ZWL 379.146439
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Vatican's diplomatic arm eyes return to fore with Ukraine talks
Vatican's diplomatic arm eyes return to fore with Ukraine talks / Photo: Filippo MONTEFORTE - AFP

Vatican's diplomatic arm eyes return to fore with Ukraine talks

Whether or not Russia and Ukraine peace talks actually take place at the Vatican, the mere suggestion it could play host reflects a fresh diplomatic impetus under new pope Leo XIV.

Text size:

Fresh from his election as the first US pope in history, Leo offered last week to mediate between leaders of countries at war. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed on Tuesday that the Vatican was ready to host Ukraine peace talks in particular.

The initiative has been welcomed by Kyiv, Washington and the EU, coming as it does just days after the first talks between the two countries since 2022 produced little of note.

According to a source close to the matter, Kyiv is "discussing" options with three states that could theoretically host fresh negotiations: Switzerland, Turkey and the Vatican.

While "everything is still at a very early stage", the Vatican "could be a good platform, because it's a moral centre that everyone can understand," the source added.

The Vatican declined to comment to AFP or confirm a Wall Street Journal report that the talks could be held at the tiny city state from mid-June.

The walled city, which sits within Rome, has played host to numerous heads of state in recent weeks, first for Pope Francis's funeral and then for the inauguration of his successor, Leo.

The funeral, on April 26, included a quick sit-down between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky inside St. Peter's Basilica.

A European diplomatic source in Rome told AFP the Holy See would certainly support hosting talks.

"It would put it back on the global diplomatic scene after a period, under Francis, where it appeared sidelined on the Holy Land and Ukraine," the source said.

- 'No decision' -

But would Russia's President Vladimir Putin come?

Francois Mabille, a researcher at the Paris-based think tank IRIS and author of a book on Vatican strategy, said the prospect of talks here was "credible" but by no means certain.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday "there have been no agreements on this matter".

Mabille said: "The question is what symbolic benefits he (Putin) could gain from it."

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Holy See has been at odds with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a close supporter of Putin.

Kirill has defended the invasion, describing the conflict as a "Holy war" -- the polar opposite of the Catholic Church's repeated calls for peace.

It would not be the first time the world's smallest state hosted peace talks.

In 2014, Israeli and Palestinian presidents Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas planted an olive tree in the Vatican gardens alongside Pope Francis, who in 2019 also hosted the feuding leaders of South Sudan.

But experts warn the context this time is very different, with hopes of a peace agreement appearing slim, at least in the short term.

- Shift in form -

Even if the Moscow-Kyiv talks do not happen at the Vatican, the very suggestion they could is giving new impetus to the diplomatic work carried out behind the scenes by the Holy See under Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

While Francis called endlessly for peace, he also broke protocol with sometimes controversial comments, such as when he told Kyiv it should have the "the courage of the white flag".

Just a few days after his election on May 8, Leo marked a clear break by calling instead for a "just and lasting peace" -- a term more in keeping with the European position.

While Francis was an impulsive leader whose off-script comments sometimes put him at odds with his own Secretariat of State, Leo is reaffirming the key role played by the Holy See's diplomatic arm and its global network.

"There is both a shift in content and a shift in form," said Mabille.

"We are moving from a militant pacifist pope to a diplomatic pope," Mabille said.

M.J.Baumann--NZN