President of the Italian Bishops'
Conference and Archbishop of Bologna Cardinal Matteo Zuppi began
a two-day peace mission to Moscow on Wednesday, with his agenda
remaining strictly confidential.
However, it is understood that meetings at the Kremlin are
scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday, initially specifically on
the issue of Ukrainian children deported to Russia.
On Wednesday, Russian foreign ministry sources told Russian news
agency Ria Novosti that no meetings are planned with the papal
envoy at the ministry.
On Thursday evening Zuppi will instead preside over a Mass at
the Catholic Cathedral in the Russian capital, while ANSA has
learned from well-informed sources that meetings at the Russian
Orthodox Patriarchate, most likely with Patriarch Kirill, are
expected to take place in the morning.
On Tuesday the Vatican issued a statement announcing the
mission, the main aim of which is to "encourage gestures of
humanity, which can contribute to fostering a solution to the
current tragic situation and find ways to achieve a just peace".
The visit comes on the heels of a similar mission to Kyiv in
early June, when Zuppi met with representatives of the civil and
religious authorities and Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky.
"The results of these talks, [...], as well as the direct
experience of the atrocious suffering of the Ukrainian people
due to the ongoing war, will be brought to the Holy Father's
attention and will undoubtedly be useful in evaluating the steps
to be continued to take both at the humanitarian level and in
the search for paths to a just and lasting peace," the Vatican
said in a statement after that mission.
However, on Tuesday evening Ukraine said the country didn't need
any outside mediation on the war caused by the Russian invasion.
"Our position is clear and we have expressed it very openly: we
do not need any mediation, and that is because we have had bad
experiences. We do not trust Russia", said the head of the
Ukrainian president's office, Andryi Yermak.
He added, however, that should Zuppi achieve results on the
problems of children deported to Russia and the exchange of
prisoners, these would be welcome.
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