During his inaugural Mass, Leo mentioned Ukraine, saying, 'The martyred Ukraine is waiting for negotiations for a just and lasting peace to finally happen.'
ROME (LifeSiteNews) -- Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni has said that Pope Leo XIV confirmed to her in a phone call that he is open and willing to host peace talks in the Vatican between Russia and Ukraine, in the hopes of putting an end to a war that has cost the lives of tens of thousands.
"Finding in the Holy Father confirmation of the readiness to host the next talks between the parties in the Vatican, the Prime Minister expressed deep gratitude (to) Pope Leo XIV for his unceasing commitment to peace," Meloni said in a statement Tuesday.
As of press time, the Vatican has yet to confirm the offer to negotiate peace talks, as mentioned by Meloni.
This Monday, there was a call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Trump later announced that the Vatican is “very interested” in hosting negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, so they could work for a ceasefire and “end to the war.”
“The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations,” wrote Trump via his Truth Social account.
“Let the process begin!” he added.
During his inaugural Mass, Leo mentioned Ukraine, saying, “The martyred Ukraine is waiting for negotiations for a just and lasting peace to finally happen.”
He later met directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife.
Vice President J.D. Vance, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, mentioned the Ukraine war, which he said came up during their audience with Leo.
“We talked a lot about what’s going on in Israel and Gaza. We talked a lot about the Russia–Ukraine situation,” Vance noted to NBC News.
“It’s hard to predict the future, but I do think that not just the pope, but the entire Vatican, has expressed a desire to be really helpful and to work together on facilitating, hopefully, a peace deal coming together in Russia and Ukraine.”
Leo, since becoming pope on May 8, has a few times commented that peace is needed worldwide.
He recently called for an end to war during his first Sunday Regina Caeli address, noting conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and Pakistan directly by name.
