Pope Francis “begged” him Vladimir Putin “stop the spiral of violence” in Ukraine, while denouncing Russia’s “contrary to international law” annexation of Ukrainian territories.
Before the prayer of the Angel in St. Mark’s Square the pope addressed “the president of the Russian Federation, begging him to stop, and out of love for his people, this spiral of violence and death.”
It is the first time that Mr Pope Francis refers directly to Putin in a speech following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The pope also referred to the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Moscow, speaking of “new actions contrary to the principles of international law”.
“I deeply regret the serious situation that has arisen in recent days (…) It increases the risk of nuclear escalation, to the extent that it makes us fear uncontrolled and catastrophic effects at the global level,” he stressed.
The pontiff also called on “the president of Ukraine (Volodymyr Zelensky) to be open to serious peace proposals”.
Source: News Beast
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