The Pope made statements in the interview given to the newspaper Corriere della Sera. He explains that on the day the war broke out he called Ukrainian President Zelensky, but not Vladimir Putin. Twenty days later he asked Cardinal Parolini to convey to the Russian President the proposal to meet him, but today he has not received a reply: “Putin cannot and does not want to meet at this time.”

NATO barrels

When examining the “roots” of the war, Bergoglio criticises NATO’s attitude. He notes that “the NATO bark at Russia’s door” could have provoked Putin’s “erroneous” response. “I don’t know if an anger is provoked, but what it has been may have been simplified.”

Francis announces that he will do his best to help stop the war. At the moment he will not travel to Ukraine, “The first thing I have to do is meet with Putin.”

Wars as an armory tester

Francis questions whether the sending of arms from a Christian point of view to Ukraine is appropriate or not: “I cannot answer the question of whether it is appropriate to supply the Ukrainians, I am too far away.” Denounce the business of war: “It is clear that weapons are being tested in this territory. The Russians now know that tanks are of little value and they are thinking of other things. Wars are made to demonstrate the weapons we have created. This was the case of the Spanish Civil War before the Second World War.” In the bombings of Euskal Herria, for example, the German military demonstrated the weapons and bombing techniques that they subsequently used during the Second World War. “The arms trade is a scandal, there are few people against it,” he says.

By disobedience

The Pope applauded disobedient citizen initiatives against wars: “Two or three years ago, a boat full of weapons arrived in Genoa that had to take a large cargo boat to bring it to Yemen. The port staff didn't want to. They said, think about the children of Yemen. It's a small thing, but a wink. There should be many of them.”