POPE BACKS FOR TALKS SAYS WAR IN UKRAINE WOULD BE “MADNESS”

Wed 09 February 2022:

Concerned about rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Pope Francis expressed optimism that the two countries might reach an agreement, saying that a conflict in the eastern European country “would be madness.”

Francis praised people who participated in his international day of prayer for peace in Ukraine on January 26 during his Wednesday general audience.

“Let us continue to beg the God of peace so that the tensions and threats of war can be overcome through a serious dialogue and that the Normandy Format talks can contribute to this aim,” he said, referring to negotiations involving Russia and Ukraine, facilitated by Germany and France.

“And let’s not forget. War is madness,” he said.

Russia has reportedly gathered troops near the Ukraine borders, stoking fears of an invasion. But Kremlin has reputedly denied the accusations made by the West and maintained that it doesn’t intend to repeat the 2014 skirmish that led to the annexation of Crimea.

Most Ukrainians follow Orthodox Christianity, but the country is also home to its own branch of the Catholic Church, which practices an eastern rite similar to Orthodox worship while proclaiming loyalty to the Pope in Rome.

Earlier in the day, French President Emmanuel Macron, who is in Moscow to meet his counterpart Vladimir Putin, said that he was assured that Kremlin would not escalate the Ukrainian crisis.

Macron also stated that finding a diplomatic solution to the escalating tensions, which he described as the most serious security issue between Russia and the West since the Cold War, would take time.

His comments came during a visit to Kyiv, as the Kremlin dismissed claims that he and Putin had reached an agreement to de-escalate the issue.

“In the current situation, Moscow and Paris can’t be reaching any deals,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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