Pope calls on Putin and Zelensky to stop the war

During Sunday's Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square in Rome, Pope Francis appealed to Russian and Ukrainian presidents Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky to stop the war as quickly as possible, vaticannews.va reported.

"My appeal is addressed first and foremost to the President of the Russian Federation, imploring him to stop this spiral of violence and death, including for the sake of his own people. On the other hand, saddened at the immense suffering of the Ukrainian people as a result of the aggression they have suffered, I address an equally confident appeal to the President of Ukraine to be open to serious proposals for peace," the pope said.

The pope urged political leaders of states to support initiatives for dialogue.

"After seven months of hostilities, let us use all diplomatic means, even those that may not have been used so far, to bring an end to this terrible tragedy. War in itself is an error and a horror!," he added.

As the UOJ previously reported, Pope Francis facilitated the largest prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.

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