The Pope has offered to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks at the Vatican, the Italian prime minster, Giorgia Meloni, has said after speaking to the newly elected pontiff by phone.
“The prime minister thanked Pope Leo for his offer and for his serious commitment to peace,” Meloni’s office said.
In a statement, her office added Meloni had been asked to contact the Pope during a call with President Trump and European leaders on Monday, the same day Trump discussed peace plans with President Putin.
Trump said on Monday “it would be great” for Russia and Ukraine to sit down for talks at the Vatican. The Pope said last week: “The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another.”
The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Russia welcomed “the readiness and efforts of all parties who want to contribute to a speedy settlement”, but said no proposal had yet been received from the Vatican.
One of the Vatican’s biggest diplomatic coups came in 1962 when Pope John XXIII’s pleas for peace helped stave off a nuclear war between the US and Russia during the Cuban missile crisis.
Pope Leo, the first American pope, criticised the migrant policies of President Trump and the US vice-president, JD Vance, before he was elected pontiff and the White House now appears to want to use his older, right-wing brother, Louis Prevost, as a go-between.
Prevost has backed Maga politics in social media posts, including one in which he reposted a video calling Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic speak of the US House of Representatives, a c***.
He and his wife sat with the US delegation led by Vance at Leo’s inauguration mass in St Peter’s Square on Sunday and joined the vice-president when he met the Pope at the Vatican on Monday.
In Washington on Tuesday, Trump and Vance hosted Prevost at the White House. Before the meeting, Trump said: “I like the Pope and I like the Pope’s brother.” He added: “Did you know that he lives in Florida? He’s got Maga, he’s got Trump, and I look forward to getting him to the White House. I want to shake his hand. I want to give him a big hug.”
