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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pope Francis ready to visit Ukraine and Russia

In this photograph provided by Vatican Media, Pope Francis meets Abdullah Kurdi at the end of a mass at Erbil's Franso Hariri Stadium, on Sunday, March 7, 2021 in Erbil, Iraq. Kurdi is the father of a 3-year-old Syrian boy of Kurdish ethnic background whose image made global headlines after he drowned on Sept. 2, 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea along with his mother and brother. Pope Francis says he is willing to travel to Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia, but only on the condition that he can also travel to Moscow. (Vatican Pool/Vatican Media/Getty Images/TNS)  (Vatican Pool/Vatican Media/Getty Images North America/TNS)
German Press Agency

German Press Agency

ROME – Pope Francis says he is willing to travel to Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia, but only on the condition that he can also travel to Moscow.

“I will go to both places or to neither,” the head of the Catholic Church said in an interview with Saturday’s edition of the Argentinian newspaper La Nacion.

The war in Ukraine could only be ended through dialogue and concrete peace initiatives, he said. The pontiff, 86, was already considering a trip to the countries last summer. At that time he also said he would like to visit Kyiv and Moscow.

The Vatican has long sought to play a mediating role in the conflict – in this context, he spoke to La Nacion of the “desire to serve peace.” In the interview, Francis reported how he had asked Russian leaders whether he could travel to Moscow on the second day after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, he said, had declined with thanks at the time.

The pontiff reiterated his dismay at the war: “The war hurts me, that’s what I want to say. The war hurts me.”

In his public appearances and audiences, he regularly speaks of the suffering of Ukrainians. For diplomatic reasons, he does not mention Russia by name.