Pope Francis has requested a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to try to end the conflict in Ukraine, but has yet to receive a response.
“I was eager to travel to Moscow. Allowing an opening was undoubtedly necessary for the Kremlin leader. We have yet to receive a response, but we remain adamant “According to Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper, the pope said.
He also stated that he had no plans to visit Ukraine, stating that he needed to travel to Moscow first.
“I fear that Putin cannot, and does not, want to have this meeting at this time. But how can you not stop so much brutality,” the Pontiff asked.
He said he also spoke to Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has given the war his full-throated backing, saying that he “cannot become Putin’s altar boy.”
