Pope Francis plans to send delegations to Ukraine, Russia to end war

Pope Francis hopes to send personal delegations to the Ukrainian and Russian presidents to mediate a ceasefire.

That's according to Orthodox Times, which refers to II Sismografo, Ukrinform reports.

According to II Sismografo, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi from Bologna will travel to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, while the head of the Vatican's Dicastery for Eastern Churches, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both presidents agreed to meet with the Holy Father's special envoys.

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Zuppi and Gugerotti did not provide any comments about the trips, according to II Sismografo.

In 2003, Pope John Paul II made a similar attempt when he sent his envoys to Washington and Baghdad in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent a war in Iraq.

On May 1, Pope Francis said that the Vatican was participating in a peacekeeping mission to try to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

On May 13, President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Francis in the Vatican.

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