London
\nThe Ukrainian government should find the courage to end the conflict with Russia through negotiations, Pope Francis told Switzerland\u2019s RSI news agency in an interview published on Saturday.
\nHost Lorenzo Buccella asked the pontiff about those \u201ccalling for the courage of surrender and the white flag\u201d and those arguing that surrendering would legitimize the use of force on the international arena.
\n\u201cIt is one interpretation,\u201d the pope said. \u201cBut I think that the strongest one is the one who sees the situation, who thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and the one who negotiates.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate,\u201d Francis argued, adding that \u201cnegotiation is never about surrendering, but the courage of not leading the country to suicide.\u201d
\n\u201cYou may be ashamed, but how many deaths will there be in the end? Negotiate in time, look for countries to mediate.\u201d
\nThe pontiff added that many countries want to help end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which entered its third year in February.
\nUkraine and its Western backers insist that a peace settlement can only be achieved on Kiev\u2019s terms and have vowed to continue to deliver weapons to Ukraine for \u201cas long as it takes.\u201d Russia, meanwhile, has stressed that no amount of foreign aid will change the course of the fighting.
\nMeaningful peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev effectively broke down in the spring of 2022, with both sides accusing each other of making unrealistic demands.
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin subsequently said the Ukrainian delegation had initially agreed with some of Russia\u2019s terms during the talks in Istanbul in March 2022, but then abruptly reneged on the deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London The Ukrainian government should find the courage to end the conflict with Russia through negotiations, Pope Francis told Switzerland\u2019s RSI news agency in an interview published on Saturday. Host Lorenzo Buccella asked the pontiff about those \u201ccalling for the courage of surrender and the white flag\u201d and those arguing that surrendering would legitimize the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-392824","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n