Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine: Pope was denied to speak out in more detail

Visvaldas Kulbokas. Photo: vaticannews.va

Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine Visvaldas Kulbokas, commenting on an interview with Pope Francis in which he called on Ukraine to raise the "white flag", said that the Pontiff "needed to be given the opportunity to express himself in more detail," reported La Repubblica.

Kulbokas criticized the journalist's questions, in particular, in his opinion, the first question of the interviewer should not have been: "Should Ukraine raise the white flag or not – why start with victimhood?"

"To stop the war, the Pope first raises the white flag – in the sense that he invites everyone to dialogue, because the continuation of bloodshed causes him pain. Moreover, if the journalist wanted to engage in an objective conversation, it would be worth asking the Pope first what, in his opinion, Russia should do. It's quite simple to open your eyes – where did the missiles, armored vehicles, and soldiers come from two years ago? From Ukraine or from Russia?" he added.

When asked how to interpret the Pope's call for negotiations with Russia, the Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine replied that the possibility of negotiations is accompanied by the question: "What will lead to more casualties?"

"Trying to resist in this war or surrender? Ukrainians know their history, they know that this has happened repeatedly, they know from history that the price of surrendering to such power was much higher – not only casualties, but also afflictions, including mass suffering, as during the Holodomor. And if yes, the question arises: what will bring more casualties – resistance to the aggressor or reaching some agreement? And what should this agreement be like? It cannot be capitulation," said Archbishop Kulbokas.

As reported by the UOJ, the Vatican's representative in Ukraine was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the Pope's statements.

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