Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cast doubt on Friday over the Vatican as a potential location for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, saying that the Holy See itself would find it uncomfortable to host two mainly Orthodox Christian nations.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday that Pope Leo had confirmed his willingness to host talks, during a phone call with her. The Vatican press office declined to comment further.
Pope Leo, the first US-born pontiff, said soon after his election this month that the Vatican could act as a mediator in global conflicts, without specifically mentioning Russia and Ukraine.
Lavrov, speaking at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow, on Friday played down the idea of the Vatican as the next venue and the Kremlin said there was not yet any agreement on where a new round of talks would take place.
“Many people are fantasising about when and where it (the meeting) will take place. We don’t have any ideas right now,” said Lavrov.
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“But imagine the Vatican as a venue for negotiations. It would be a bit inelegant for Orthodox countries to use a Catholic platform to discuss issues on how to remove the root causes (of the conflict).