The papal envoy is on a two-day peace mission to Moscow, according to a statement issued by the Holy See on Tuesday.
The mission aims to “encourage gestures of humanity, which can contribute to fostering a solution to the current tragic situation and find ways to achieve a just peace” in Ukraine.
“We highly appreciate the efforts and initiatives of the Vatican to find a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis,” Peskov said.
Zuppi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Ukrainian religious leaders in Kyiv on June 6.
The French Catholic newspaper La Croix reported he was expected to meet Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, while in Moscow.
Kirill is a close ally of Putin and fully backs what Russia still describes as its “special military operation” in Ukraine, as a bulwark against a “decadent” West.
The Vatican’s mention of “humanitarian gestures” appeared to refer to Ukraine’s request to help with the repatriation of Ukrainian children.
Kyiv estimates almost 19,500 children have been taken illegally to Russia or Russia-annexed Crimea since February 2022.
Russia rejects this, saying it has only evacuated children whose safety was at risk in the conflict zone.
Zelenskiy has asked the Vatican to back his own peace plan, which calls for the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine’s state borders.
ANSA / AAP
