CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Pope Leo called for continued dialogue to seek a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine during a meeting on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Vatican said.
His comments echoed Zelenskiy's frequent demands for a "just" peace as the Ukrainian leader tries to ensure that any agreement to end Russia's war in Ukraine is balanced and does not overly favour Moscow.
The pope "reiterated the need for the continuation of dialogue and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about a just and lasting peace," the Vatican said in a statement issued after a meeting at the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo outside Rome.
"In addition, the questions of prisoners of war and the need to assure the return of Ukrainian children to their families were also discussed", said the Vatican, which has mediated between Kyiv and Moscow on the children issue.
UKRAINE RULES OUT CEDING TERRITORY
Zelenskiy, who arrived in Italy after talks in London on Monday, thanked the pontiff "for his constant prayers for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, as well as for his calls for a just peace," and invited him to visit Ukraine.
"I informed the Pope about diplomatic efforts with the United States to achieve peace. We discussed further actions and the Vatican’s mediation aimed at returning our children abducted by Russia," Zelenskiy wrote on X.
Ukraine accuses Russia of abducting at least 19,000 of its children to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has denied abducting Ukrainian children, saying it acted to keep them safe from the fighting.
Zelenskiy, who is under pressure from President Donald Trump to accept a U.S.-backed peace agreement, has said repeatedly that any peace deal for Ukraine must be both just and durable.
The Ukrainian leader has ruled out ceding territory to Russia, and he and his European allies are concerned that the U.S.-backed deal bows to many of Moscow's key demands, does not fully address their security concerns and would reward Russia for invading Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz offered Zelenskiy their support after talks on Monday.
The Ukrainian leader, who was also due to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni while in Italy, said on Monday that Kyiv would share a revised peace plan with the United States on Tuesday.
Leo, who was elected in May, has followed in the footsteps of his late predecessor Francis in repeatedly calling for an end to the war in Ukraine and at one point suggested he could host peace talks. The offer was never taken up.
(Writing by Alvise Armellini, editing by Crispian Balmer and Timothy Heritage)
