(Vatican City) Pope Francis called for “courage to raise a white flag and negotiate” to end the war in Ukraine “before things get worse,” in a television interview Switzerland broadcast on Saturday.
“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,” he said in an interview with public television RTS in early February, when asked about a debate in Ukraine on the way forward.
“Negotiating is a brave 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.
In the first weeks of the war, Turkey hosted peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, which failed.
She hopes to be able to relaunch them, more than two years after the start of the Russian invasion at a time when the Kremlin maintains the numerical advantage over its adversary and the support of Kyiv’s Western allies is running out of steam.
“Do not be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse,” the pope stressed.
Asked about the war between Israel and Hamas, he placed responsibility on both sides.
“War is fought by two, not by one. The irresponsible ones are these two who are waging war,” he said.