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Pope Francis holds his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican, March 8, 2023. Photo/REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
ROMA – Pope Francis emphasized that Russia is not the only “empire” whose interests are driving the conflict in Ukraine.
The Pope’s statement appeared in an interview with Swiss television RSI, which will be released on Sunday (12/3/2023). Excerpts from the interview were published on Friday by several Italian outlets.
Asked about the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, the Pope noted that it had developed into a “world war” in which “all the great powers were entangled.”
“The battlefield is Ukraine. Everyone is fighting there. This makes the industry think about weapons,” said the Pope.
He said that on the second day after Russia launched its military offensive against Ukraine, he went to the Russian Embassy and offered to go to Moscow to personally negotiate with President Vladimir Putin.
However, the Pope said he was told by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that this was not the time.
The Pope said Putin knew that the option of negotiating peace was always available, but acknowledged there were “imperial interests” at play in the Ukrainian conflict, and “not only imperial Russia, but empires elsewhere.”
“It is the business of the empire to put the nation second,” said the Pope.
