Lavrov’s talks with Vatican envoy

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher
Photo: TASS

On August 25, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a meeting in Moscow with Secretary of the Holy See for Relations with States and International Organisations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, who is on a working visit to Russia, MFA informs.

Held in a constructive atmosphere, the conversation included a detailed review of the bilateral dialogue, as well as several other topical international matters.

The situation concerning Ukraine was high on the agenda, considering Vatican’s involvement in resolving several humanitarian issues in the context of the Ukraine conflict. Sergey Lavrov talked about the destructive nature of Western policies and went on to emphasise the principled importance of addressing the root causes of the crisis. The Minister praised the Vatican for its commitment to promoting peaceful approaches and described Russia’s ties with the Vatican on humanitarian matters in positive terms, while also stressing that Russia was prepared to keep working in close cooperation with the Holy See on initiatives to reunite families and carry out prisoner exchanges.

The meeting also included an exchange of views on defending the traditional spiritual and moral values and the situation Christians face in various regions of the world. It was noted that Russia and the Holy See share close approaches to several regional conflicts and on the need for the international community to join efforts in finding answers to present-day challenges, including those related to the rapid development of new technology and artificial intelligence.

TASS has summed up key facts about the talks.

Lavrov’s statements

The Russian side is grateful to the Vatican for its balanced stance on the situation in Ukraine and its initiatives toward settling the crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with visiting Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations Paul Richard Gallagher.

The top Russian diplomat noted that Moscow expects the Vatican will pay attention to Kiev's illegal actions, stressed that the sides maintain trust-based relations and added that the use of Artificial Intelligence will be a topic for dialogue between Russia and the Holy See.

On the Ukrainian conflict

Russia will not forget Ukraine’s bloody terror attack on Starobelsk and will seek justice: "No doubt, we will never forget it and will seek justice for Zelensky’s bloody terror attack in Starobelsk."

The Russian side drew the Vatican’s attention to Kiev's persecution of the Russian language and culture in Ukraine: "Of course, we discussed how Ukraine treats the Russian language, Russian education, Russian media, and Russian culture in general."

Russia expects the Vatican in its contacts with Ukraine will pay attention to Kiev's illegal actions against the Russian language and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church: Ukraine is the only country where the language is banned - nowhere else in the world there is such a situation. We hope that in their contacts with the Ukrainian side, our colleagues from the Vatican will pay attention to these issues, as well as to the actions of the Kiev regime, which is legislatively pursuing the destruction of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church."

The Russian side handed over to the Vatican a report on the Kiev regime’s unlawful actions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its clergy: "The Russian Foreign Ministry recently published its third report on the Kiev regime's unlawful actions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, its clergy and parishioners and sent it to relevant international organizations, including the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, while also giving a copy to the Vatican."

On cooperation between Russia and the Vatican

Russia and the Vatican maintain trustworthy relations: "Relations between the Russian Federation and the Vatican remain trustworthy, friendly and pragmatic."

Moscow is ready to resume political consultations at the level of deputy foreign ministers.

Russia is grateful to the Vatican for its balanced position on the situation in Ukraine and its initiatives regarding the conflict settlement process: "We thanked our colleagues for their balanced position on the situation in and around Ukraine."

During the talks, the Russian side "outlined Russia's principled approaches to resolving the Ukrainian crisis" and confirmed its "appreciation for the Vatican's active involvement in resolving a number of acute humanitarian issues in the Ukrainian conflict."

The use of artificial intelligence in the military sphere could become another area of dialogue with the Vatican: Today, we discussed trends in the field of artificial intelligence, including its military application, in considerable detail. We have aligned positions and agreed to continue to consider this issue substantively."

Gallagher’s statements

The Vatican calls for a genuine dialogue on the Ukrainian settlement with the support of the international community and an end to hostilities. He called for creating conditions for serious political and diplomatic work and stressed the need for a true dialogue.

The Vatican is ready to provide its services in any way possible in the hope that the much-desired peace can be achieved as soon as possible

The Vatican calls for respecting the rights of prisoners of war, honoring international law, protecting civilian population, infrastructure, and facilities.

Russia and the Vatican have reiterated their commitment to continuing cooperation in the humanitarian sphere around the Ukrainian conflict and agreed to continue coordination

Russia and the Vatican, despite notable differences in their evaluations of various issues, reaffirmed their mutual commitment to maintaining open channels of communication and fostering dialogue through diplomacy.

The sides reiterated their commitment to protect civilian population and stressed the need for cooperation on humanitarian issues.

These aspects may lay a solid basis for building diplomacy, which is badly needed amid differences.

The Vatican expects to achieve progress in future cooperation with Russian authorities.

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