Pope Francis looks on during an exclusive interview with Reuters, at the Vatican, July 2, 2022. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine renews its invitation for Pope Francis to visit Ukraine and urges the pontiff to continue praying for the Ukrainian people, a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.
"It is time to deepen connections with those who sincerely desire it. We renew the invitation to Pope Francis to visit our country and urge you to continue praying for the Ukrainian people," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said when asked for comment about an interview Francis gave to Reuters.
The pope said in the interview that he hoped he would be able to go to Moscow and Kyiv after a trip to Canada as part of efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
(Reporting by Max Hunder; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Jon Boyle)
