“No one has ever talked about mediation,” Zuppi told reporters on the sidelines of a Sant’Egidio meeting in Berlin.
“It has always been a mission, the pope explained this at the outset and has repeated what his expectation of this mission is and said precisely that it was not and is not ‘mediation’, but rather to help,” continued the cardinal.
On Friday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s senior advisor said Francis cannot mediate in the Ukraine war because he is “pro-Russian, not credible” after the pope cited ‘the great mother Russia’ in urging young Russians to learn from their cultural heritage.
Francis later said his comment had been strictly cultural.
“I think it is so clear, and I think that if there are any doubts they have obviously already been cleared up or will be cleared up,” said Zuppi.
“[Misunderstandings] are understandable in such a tense situation.”
Zuppi has made trips to Kyiv, Moscow and Washington as part of Vatican efforts to identify initiatives that might open up paths to achieving peace.
“I think the Ukrainian government and people are aware of the support that they have always had from the Church and Pope Francis in their suffering,” concluded the cardinal.
ANSA
