Pope Francis Meets Up With President Zelensky

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky recently met up with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Zelensky took the trip to the Vatican to urge the Pope and other clergy to “support Kyiv’s formula for peace.”

The Pope has previously offered to act as a negotiator between both Russia and Ukraine in order to bring an end to the war.

Here are some pictures and videos of the two linking up:

Zelensky asked Pope Francis to “condemn Russian crimes in Ukraine, media pic.twitter.com/hY45WLtsTo

— S p r i n t e r (@SprinterFamily) May 13, 2023

BREAKING: Zelensky arrives at Vatican to meet Pope

pic.twitter.com/OYU1PEj03c

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) May 13, 2023

NOW – Ukraine's Zelensky meets Pope in the Vatican. pic.twitter.com/NhT00y8Cjo

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) May 13, 2023

Here’s what the Wall Street Journal reported:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Pope Francis to support Kyiv’s formula for peace—based on returning Ukraine’s territory—in a pointed message to the pontiff, who has refused to explicitly condemn Russia’s invasion.

The pope, who met with Mr. Zelensky at the Vatican on Saturday, has offered to serve as an intermediary in negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow but his neutral stance, and his suggestions that the West provoked the war, have raised skepticism in Ukraine.

“I asked to condemn Russian crimes in Ukraine. Because there can be no equality between the victim and the aggressor,” Mr. Zelensky tweeted shortly after his meeting with the pope. “I also talked about our Peace Formula as the only effective algorithm for achieving a just peace. I proposed joining its implementation,” Mr. Zelensky wrote.

⚡ Zelensky holds 40-minute talk with Pope Francis.

During President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the Vatican, Pope Francis gifted him a small olive branch sculpture that symbolizes peace. Zelensky gifted the Pope an icon of the Virgin Mary painted onto a piece of body armor.… pic.twitter.com/5rMb8bqopD

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 13, 2023

Per AP:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had private talks with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday, later saying he sought support for Ukraine’s peace plan from the pontiff, who in the past has offered to try to help end the full-scale war launched by Russia a year ago.

Zelenskyy held his hand over his heart and said it was a “great honor” to meet with the pope. Francis, using a cane for his knee problem, came to greet the Ukrainian president before ushering him into a papal studio near the Vatican’s audience hall.

In a tweet after the 40-minute audience, Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to Francis for “his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians.” He said he spoke with the pontiff “about the tens of thousands of deported (Ukrainian) children. We must make every effort to return them home.”