Meloni thanks new Pope for offering Vatican as venue for Ukraine-Russia talks

The Italian Prime Minister’s statement was quoted by ANSA.

Meloni stressed the need for “a process to establish a just and lasting peace, which must, of course, take into account the necessary security guarantees for the nation under attack.”

“We have to keep pushing for this, and let me, in that sense, thank His Holiness Pope Leo XIV for his words, and for suggesting the Holy See as a possible location for future peace talks,” she said.

As a reminder, the new Pope, Leo XIV, has proposed the Vatican as a platform for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, after it became clear that the talks in Istanbul would not lead to the desired outcome.

• Newly elected Pope Leo XIV has received a list of Ukrainian defenders held in Russian captivity.