Few call for a ban on the arms trade in the world, but the voices of many must be heard – Pope Francis
Mary Teresa: Vatican
In a lengthy interview with an Italian newspaper, Pope Francis told Russian President Vladimir Putin that he was ready to meet with him in Moscow and that he would like to go to Moscow before leaving for Kiev, Ukraine.
Luciano Fontana, director of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, and Fiorenza Sarzanini, assistant director, met with the pope at the Pope’s residence in Santa Marta in the Vatican and interviewed him about the ongoing war in Ukraine.
After the war broke out in Ukraine, Pope Francis spoke to the directors on the phone and went to Russia’s embassy in Rome, after all. He answered a number of questions, including his eagerness to meet with Putin in Moscow.
Twenty days after the start of the war in Ukraine, I asked Cardinal Pietro to send a message to Putin that I would like to come to Moscow, and the pope said that he had not yet received a reply from the cardinal.
We continue to insist that Putin will not be able to meet me at this time and that he does not want to be intimidated, but how can this atrocity not be stopped? The pope said that 25 years ago we faced a similar atrocity in Rwanda.
Weapons are tested in battle
Pope Benedict XVI said that NATO’s presence at the doorstep of Russia could be a factor in the country’s unleashing of war, as I was far away and could not say anything, but it was clear that weapons were being tested in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Pope Francis called for a ban on the arms trade in the world, but called for the voices of many to be included.