‘War is always a defeat’: The Pope again calls for peaceful negotiations on Ukraine

Pope Francis reiterated his call for negotiations to end hostilities in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Vatican News reports this.

During his weekly audience in the Vatican, the pontiff remembered the residents of the “martyred Ukraine and the Holy Land, Palestine, Israel, who suffer so much from the horrors of war.”

“Never forget that war is always a defeat. We cannot move forward during war. We must make every effort to speak and negotiate,” the pontiff said.

It is worth noting that on March 9, the Pope called Ukraine the losing side in the war with Russia and stated that it must find the courage to acknowledge this by agreeing to negotiations. At that time, he said that strength lies in those who think about people and see the situation and who “have the courage to raise the white flag and engage in negotiations.”

This statement drew sharp criticism from Ukrainian authorities and Western leaders. For instance, Volodymyr Zelensky did not accept the idea of negotiations.