The Turkish foreign ministry confirmed that peace talks between Ukraine and Russia ended after just under two hours.
Pope Leo offered to act as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia to arrange for peace in Ukraine, according to Italian media outlet RAI.
Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said on Friday that the pope could be made available for a meeting between the two countries so they could “at least talk.”
“The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face-to-face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace,” Pope Leo said Friday.
Parolin added that the Holy See could be a “very suitable place.”
The talks in Istanbul this week were the first time representatives from the two countries had met since 2022, just after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
There were delegations from Russia and Ukraine, but neither country’s leaders attended. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with Russian Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky. President Donald Trump considered going to the talks during his trip to the Middle East this week, but ultimately decided not to.
At the beginning of the meeting, Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, described these negotiations as “technical talks” that will lay the groundwork for a possible meeting between the two countries’ leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
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Putin called for direct talks after he rejected a call from Ukraine for a 30-day ceasefire. Zelensky quickly said he was ready to meet, noting he would not meet any Russian official except Putin.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Istanbul Friday after attending a NATO meeting in another Turkish city.