Pope Francis and Kaja Kallas: An appeal for peace in Ukraine

Pope Francis and Kaja Kallas: An appeal for peace in Ukraine

Vatikanstadt, Italien - On Monday, February 10, 2025, Pope Francis received the EU foreign representative Kaja Kallas in the Vatican. In her presentation on the short message service Bluesky, Kallas described the encounter as a "honor" and reported that they had discussed the continued war of Russia against Ukraine and the urgent need for just and permanent peace. Kallas thanked the Pope for his strong leadership role in the protection of the most vulnerable and for the defense of human dignity, as reported by the Vatican press office.

This encounter follows the controversy around the Pope's earlier statements, in which he had called for the negotiation. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, a high -ranking representative of the Vatican, made it clear that the first condition for such negotiations is that Russia will hire its aggression. The Pope had previously emphasized that the courage to negotiate was crucial to avoid further escalation. However, these statements were perceived as unhappy in Ukraine, since they gave the impression that the Ukraine should surrender what led to inheritance reactions. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba then turned to the Pope that Ukraine would never hoist a different flag than its yellow-blue national flag, the Tagesschau .