Pope Leo XIV received a high-ranking Russian Orthodox cleric in an audience at the Vatican today, which is the first such event since he became the head of the Roman Catholic Church in May, according to a brief official statement mentioning this visit without giving details, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
Leo XIV, who called on the Kremlin to make a "gesture" in favor of peace in Ukraine, received Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, a kind of "foreign minister" of the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who supports the Kremlin's policy.
Relations between the Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate are very cool. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which he has described as a "holy war."
However, Moscow has maintained a dialogue with the late Pope Francis, who was widely criticized in Ukraine, with Metropolitan Anthony holding a dozen meetings with the Argentine pontiff.
The Russian cleric told the Italian newspaper "Repubblica" a few days before the meeting that Pope Francis had a "balanced approach" towards Ukraine, although he did not yet know Leo XIV's position.
Leo XIV is the first American pope and took over the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church at a time when the United States is pressing for peace in Ukraine, as part of efforts that have yielded no tangible results to end the war that has been going on for more than three years.
Pope Leo XIV received an audience with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month and also held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In mid-May, the pope offered his mediation to warring parties around the world, and the Vatican was proposed as a possible venue for peace talks on Ukraine, but this idea was rejected by the Kremlin and the talks continued in Istanbul.
Metropolitan Anthony confirmed that for Moscow the Vatican would not be "neutral" territory for peace negotiations.
Metropolitan Anthony was appointed head of external relations of the Moscow Patriarchate in 2022, the year Russia invaded Ukraine, and before that he was the patriarchate's ambassador to Italy.