2024-03-12 16:28 Compiled by United Daily News Gao Yixuan/Reporting in real time
During an interview in February, Catholic Pope Francis said that Ukraine should have the courage to raise the “white flag” and negotiate with Russia. This statement caused controversy after it was exposed on the 9th. Reuters reported that Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, said in an interview with Italian media on the 12th that the Vatican is pushing for a ceasefire and that the prerequisite for any peace talks is that Russia should stop its aggression.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Holy See’s ambassador to Ukraine on the 11th to express “disappointment” with White Flag’s relevant remarks. The Russian Kremlin said Francis’ call for an armistice was “quite understandable”; NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg said it was not the time to discuss “surrender”.
Parolin, who tried to de-escalate the situation and clarify Francis’ remarks, told Corriere della Sera that the Holy See wanted to broker a ceasefire and that “first of all the aggressors should stop firing”. Parolin also said that Francis hopes to create the conditions for a diplomatic solution and seek a fair and lasting peace. To this end, the two sides should obviously sit at the negotiating table, and the first prerequisite must be “the cessation of aggression.”
Parolin also said that the war in Ukraine was not the result of natural disasters, but the result of man-made choices. Reuters pointed out that these remarks showed that Parolin identified Russia as the aggressor. He also pointed out that the human will that caused the current tragedy also has the possibility and responsibility to take action to end the tragedy and open the way to a diplomatic solution.
The Holy See has previously clarified that Francis’ so-called “white flag” does not mean surrender, but negotiation, and the reason for using the word “white flag” is to follow the interview host’s question.
Catholic Pope Francis presided over the Angelus prayer at the window of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican on the 10th.AFP Ukraine Russia Russo-Ukrainian War Italy Pope Vatican Francis Holy See Stoltenberg NATO
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2024-03-12 08:28:07
