Pope: Russia's return of the occupied territories of Ukraine is a "political issue"

18:02 26 May Kyiv, Ukraine

Pope Francis said that the return of the occupied territories of Ukraine by Russia is a "political issue". The pontiff also noted that in order to achieve peace, the parties must "talk to each other."

Pope Francis said this in an interview with Telemundo.
"This political question. Peace will be achieved when Russia and Ukraine talk to each other, face to face or through intermediaries," Pope Francis said.
The pontiff also spoke about his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he visited Italy on May 13.
"Ukrainians do not dream of peace negotiations, because the Ukrainian bloc is really very strong: all of Europe, the United States. In other words, they themselves have very great power," the Pope said.
As Vatican News reported, at the end of last week the pontiff entrusted Cardinal Matteo Zuppi with a "peacekeeping mission" related to the war in Ukraine. The details of the mission were not disclosed.

On May 1, Pope Francis announced that he was participating in a "peacekeeping mission" that aims to "put an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine." He assured that he would do "everything in human power" to return Ukrainian children deported to Russia and reunite families.