MOSCOW, May 13. Ukraine does not need the Vatican's mediation to resolution of the conflict in the country, said President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with Italian media.
«I have all the respect for His Holiness. The very format of Ukraine's mediation with Putin… The issue is that we don't need mediators… We must develop an action plan for a just world, peace in Ukraine,” he said.
Zelensky also claims that he has “nothing” to talk about with the Russian leader.
On Saturday In the morning, Pope Francis received in the Vatican the President of Ukraine, who arrived on a visit to Rome.
In early February, the pontiff announced that he was open for meetings with Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky to resolve the crisis. Three months later, he clarified that the Vatican was carrying out some mediation mission in Ukraine, which he would be able to talk about «when it becomes public.»
At the same time, as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, Moscow does not yet have information about this mission.
Russia has repeatedly stressed that it highly appreciates the efforts of countries trying to bring the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine into a peaceful direction, but so far this is impossible. As noted in the Kremlin, the situation may change, provided that the de facto situation and new realities are taken into account, «all Moscow's demands are well known.»