Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to attend Pope Leo’s inaugural Mass at the Vatican on 18 May, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak told Reuters, though wartime commitments may affect his schedule.
“He is planning to come, but you know that before (Sunday) we have some other very important meetings,” Andriy Yermak said in a telephone interview from Kyiv, referring to possible peace talks in Türkiye this week.
“Of course during war it’s difficult to be sure, but I know that he will be happy to be in Rome on this day,” Yermak added.
Reuters reports the Ukrainian president would be willing to hold discussions with other world leaders on the sidelines of the inauguration, similar to his meeting with US President Donald Trump during Pope Francis’s funeral on 26 April.
“It’s a great place for such meetings. The meeting with Trump was the confirmation of this,” Yermak said.
According to Yermak, the new pontiff spoke with Zelenskyy by telephone on 12 May and promised to “do his best” to help achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.
“He was very warm talking about Ukraine. He said he is ready to do the best to achieve a just and lasting peace,” Yermak told Reuters.
The chief of staff noted that Zelenskyy invited Pope Leo to visit Ukraine, receiving what he described as a “very, very positive” reaction, though no commitment was made.
Leo, elected on 8 May, will be installed as the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics at a Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The United States has not yet announced who will represent the Trump administration at the ceremony.
Yermak downplayed tensions that existed between Ukraine and the Vatican during Pope Francis’s papacy, particularly regarding comments that sometimes irritated Ukrainian officials.
“We think it (Leo’s papacy) will be some continuation of the policy of Pope Francis,” Yermak said, mentioning continued humanitarian aid and assistance in returning Ukrainian children taken by Russia. “But at the same time, it will be a new policy,” he added.
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