Pope Leo XIV has invited Russian and Ukrainian negotiators to the Vatican for direct peace talks, a proposal that has quickly won broad international backing.
Diplomatic notes of support have arrived from the United Nations, the European Union, and several major governments, all praising the new pontiff’s initiative as a timely chance to end the protracted conflict.
Elected on May 8, 2025, Pope Leo XIV (formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost) is the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church.
Known for his moderate stance and years of missionary work in Peru, the 267th pope is continuing the diplomatic outreach that marked Pope Francis’s tenure, but with a fresh mandate and heightened urgency.
Vatican officials say preliminary groundwork is under way to bring both sides to Rome for what could be the most substantive face-to-face negotiations since full-scale hostilities began.
While neither Moscow nor Kyiv has formally accepted the invitation, early signals from European and Latin American mediators suggest the offer is being taken seriously.
Analysts note that the Holy See’s neutrality and the new pope’s reputation for bridge-building give the proposal uncommon credibility.
If realized, the talks would represent the Vatican’s most significant diplomatic intervention in decades and could set the tone for Leo XIV’s papacy: one focused on peace-making and global dialogue.
