Possible Russian-Ukrainian peace talks in the Vatican, as has been talked about in recent days, would require “very intensive preparation“ and participants who are authorized to negotiate a ceasefire, said today the spokesman for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, quoted by Agence France-Presse, writes BTA.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said last night that Pope Leo XIV had confirmed to her the Vatican's readiness to host such negotiations - something that she said was positively assessed by US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kiev's European allies.
The idea has been gaining popularity since the Holy Father offered his mediation to the warring parties around the world last week.
„At the moment it is a bit speculative to talk about a date or formats“ about a possible meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Stefan Cornelius stressed at a regular press conference in Berlin.
“I think that after the experience of the last 10 days and Istanbul, we know that it is a priority to hold serious discussions and that the participants in the delegations, whoever they are, are authorized to negotiate a ceasefire“, he said.
“I think such a meeting requires very intensive preparation“, Cornelius noted.
Russian-Ukrainian talks on Friday in Istanbul - the first since 2022 - failed to produce a ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and its allies. According to Kiev, Russia sent a record number of more than 270 strike drones against Ukraine on Saturday evening.