Pope Francis said the war in Ukraine “may in some way either be provoked or not avoided” in statements published by the Italian newspaper La Stampa on Tuesday. “What we are seeing is the barbarity and savagery with which this war is being waged by the troops, generally mercenaries, used by the Russians,” the pope was quoted as saying during a conversation with the directors of the Cultural Publications Society of 19 May. adding that the Russians “prefer to send Chechens, Syrians, mercenaries forward.” “But the danger is that we only see what is monstrous, and we do not see all the drama behind this war, which may or may not have been provoked or avoided in some way. And I’m interested in trials and it’s very sad. “But basically this is what is at stake,” he said. The pope said he was not “in favor” of Putin but “simply against reducing the complexity of distinguishing between good and evil, without thinking about the roots and interests, which are very complex.” “While we see the brutality, the cruelty of the Russian troops, we must not forget the problems in order to try to solve them,” he added. Pope Francis said that before Russia invaded Ukraine, he met with “a head of state” who was “very worried about how NATO was moving.” I asked him why and he replied: “They are barking at the gates of Russia. “And they do not understand that the Russians are imperial and do not allow any foreign power to approach them,” the pope said, adding that the anonymous “head of state” told him “the situation could lead to war.” Pope Francis also said he hoped to be able to speak with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, later this year, after a meeting scheduled for Tuesday was postponed due to the war in Ukraine. “I had to meet with him on June 14 in Jerusalem to talk about our affairs. But with the war, by mutual agreement, we decided to postpone the meeting to a later date, so as not to misunderstand our dialogue,” Pope Francis said. . he said. The pope said he hoped to meet with the Russian patriarch at a general assembly in Kazakhstan in September. The Pope recently canceled a trip to Africa due to a knee injury. In separate statements issued by the Vatican on Tuesday, the pope said the invasion of Ukraine “has now been added to regional wars that have for years blamed death and destruction.” “However, the situation here is even more complicated due to the immediate intervention of a ‘superpower’ aimed at enforcing its own will in violation of the principle of self-determination of the peoples,” the pope said as part of a message to the Romans. World Day of the Poor of the Catholic Church, which will be celebrated in November.
