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Pope Leo XIV speaks by phone with Russian President Putin
Speaking by phone with President Vladimir Putin, Pope Leo XIV urges Russia to take a step that favours peace, underlining the importance of dialogue
By Vatican Newsx
On Wednesday afternoon, Pope Leo XIV and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone, focusing especially on the war in Ukraine.
Matteo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, told reporters that the Pope and the President discussed the humanitarian situation, as well as the need to facilitate aid where necessary.
"The Pope made an appeal for Russia to take a gesture that would favor peace, emphasizing the importance of dialogue to create positive contacts between the parties and seek solutions to the conflict," said the statement.
Pope Leo XIV and President Putin also discussed the ongoing efforts for prisoner exchanges and the value of the work that Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, is doing in this regard.
"Pope Leo made reference to Patriarch Kirill, thanking him for the congratulations received at the beginning of his pontificate, and underlined how shared Christian values can be a light that helps to seek peace, defend life, and pursue genuine religious freedom," said Mr. Bruni.
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Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
There have been several rounds of peace talks to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine since it began in February 2022. Russia's president Vladimir Putin seeks recognition of all occupied land as Russian, for Russia to be given all of the regions it claims but does not fully control, guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO, and the lifting of sanctions against Russia. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeks a full withdrawal of Russian troops, the return of prisoners and kidnapped Ukrainian children, prosecution of Russian leaders for war crimes, and security guarantees to prevent further Russian aggression.
The first meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials took place four days after the invasion began, on 28 February 2022, in Belarus, and concluded without result. Later rounds of talks took place in March 2022 on the Belarus–Ukraine border and in Antalya, Turkey. Negotiations in Turkey created an agreement in which Ukraine would abandon plans to join NATO and have limits placed on its military, while having security guarantees from Western countries, and not being required to recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea. The draft treaty was almost agreed to, but disagreements over security guarantees and the Bucha massacre ultimately halted negotiations.
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Renewed negotiations began in 2025 after Donald Trump became president of the United States. Trump held a phone call with Putin on 12 February and U.S. officials met with Zelenskyy, Called On March 18, 2025, May 19, 2025, and June 4th, 2025
Sometime after. After a U.S.–Russia summit, the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy deteriorated, culminating in a 28 February meeting between the two in which U.S. officials asked the Ukrainians to leave midway through and abandoned a planned Ukraine–U.S. mineral revenue deal. After the meeting, British prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron created a plan for a ceasefire protected by a "coalition of the willing" with troops in Ukraine. Starting from March, some limited truces were occasionally agreed to by both Russia and Ukraine.
U.S President Trump called to Russia President Putin again on June 4th, 2025 and was hoping to support for Peace work between Ukraine, and Russia.
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