Pope Francis calls for “the courage to negotiate”

“Negotiating is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not working, have the courage to negotiate,” declared the sovereign pontiff, on Swiss public television RTS.

Published


Reading time: 1 min

Pope Francis at Saint Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican, March 9, 2024. (ISABELLA BONOTTO / AFP)

Pope Francis has called for “have the courage to raise a white flag and negotiate” to end the war in Ukraine “before things get worse”in an interview on Swiss public television RTS, broadcast on Saturday March 9.

“I believe that the strongest are those who see the situation, think about the people and have the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate”declared the sovereign pontiff, questioned about a debate in Ukraine on the way forward. “Negotiating is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not working out, have the courage to negotiate”he added, in an apparent allusion to kyiv.

The head of the Catholic Church recalled that there were “many” actors “ready to play the role of mediators”, “for example Turkey”.

On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was ready to host a Russia-Ukraine peace summit if necessary by receiving his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul.


source site-29