(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 11 - Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky on Friday morning arrived at the Vatican to meet with
Pope Francis.
Talks between the pontiff and Zelensky lasted 35 minutes, from
9:45 until 10:20.
After a private meeting at the Sala della Biblioteca and the
presentation of the Ukrainian delegation, the pope gave Zelensky
a bronze plaque with a blooming flower and the inscription
"Peace is a fragile flower".
Zelensky gifted the pontiff with an oil painting portraying "The
massacre of Bucha. The story of Marichka".
Francis also gave Zelensky his message for the World Day of
Peace this year, the volumes of papal documents, the book on
Statio Orbis from March 27 2020 and the volume "Persecuted for
truth, Ukrainian Greek Catholics behind the iron curtain".
After meeting with the pontiff, the Ukrainian president and his
delegation went to the Secretariat of State for talks.
Zelensky is the Vatican for the third time after holding talks
with the pontiff on February 8, 2020 and May 13, 2023.
Francis and the Ukrainian president also saw each other at a
bilateral meeting on June 14 during a G7 summit at Borgo
Egnazia, in Puglia. (ANSA).
Ukrainian President Zelensky meets with Pope Francis at Vatican
President gives pontiff painting on Bucha massacre during 35-minute talks