Zelensky’s first visit to Rome since the war in Ukraine began

First modification: 05/13/2023 – 16:08

On his visit to Rome, Volodimir Zelensky met with Pope Francis for 40 minutes and presented him with a bulletproof vest, worn by a Ukrainian soldier and later painted with a representation of the Virgin Mary.

“It is a great honor,” said the Ukrainian president as he bowed to the head of the Catholic Church.

Prior to this moment, Zelensky had met with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, to whom he explained that Kiev has identified, with their names and ages, more than 19,000 children taken by force to the aggressor’s territory, but that the actual number could be at least 200,000, “and we don’t know their fate”, only that the Russian government “teaches them to hate” Ukraine.

This event followed the reception with military honors by the Italian head of state, Sergio Matarella, to begin his agenda in Rome.

In the courtyard of the Quirinal Palace, the seat of the Presidency, the anthems of both countries were heard in military honors, in addition to raising the Ukrainian flag.

“We are fully by your side. Welcome, President,” Matterella told Zelenski, at the start of the talks between the two delegations, Italian and Ukrainian.

This is Zelensky’s first visit to Italy since the war began in his country in February 2022.

Mattarella confirmed Italy’s full support for Ukraine in terms of military, financial, humanitarian and reconstruction aid, in the short and long term.

For his part, Zelensky insisted that “peace must restore justice and international law”, so “it must be a true peace and not a surrender”.

After the meeting with the Italian head of state, Zelensky went to the Chigi Palace, where he is meeting with Giorgia Meloni, who visited him in Kiev in February to assure him of Italy’s continued support despite the longstanding ties between some members of the ruling coalition in Rome, including former Council President Silvio Berlusconi, and Russia.

The meeting takes place in the midst of the Vatican peace mission announced by the pontiff on the return flight from his recent trip to Hungary and of which the details are not yet known, although a Vatican source has told Russian media that the meeting “is not directly related” to her and that Zelenski requested the meeting with Francisco “just a few days ago.”

The Italian capital has shielded itself for Zelenski’s visit and the security forces have taken measures to the maximum with a thousand agents deployed, a no-fly zone and several sniper teams located on Zelenski’s planned route, where numerous Ukrainian refugees to greet their president.

Preamble to the meeting with Pope Francis

However, the main event of the trip to Italy is the meeting with Pope Francis. The Ukrainian president and the pontiff already met in 2020 at the Vatican and have had several telephone exchanges since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In the early phases of the war, Francis tried to take a measured approach, hoping to appear as a potential mediator, before gradually coming out in force to condemn Russia’s actions, comparing some of them to the worst crimes committed against Ukrainians. in the soviet era.

Returning from a trip to Hungary on April 30, the pope spoke with a touch of mystery about the Vatican’s involvement in peace efforts. “There is a mission underway, but it has not been made public yet. When it is made public, I will reveal it,” Francis told reporters on the plane back to Rome.

Both Ukraine and Russia publicly expressed their surprise at the statements. The Vatican confirmed that talks were taking place behind the scenes, but declined to give further details.

Francis met this week with Alexander Avdeyev, who is about to resign as Russian ambassador to the Vatican. According to the Italian daily Il Messaggero, the Vatican gave the diplomat a letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

With Efe and Reuters