Russia denies that there have been any “substantive contacts” between Moscow and the Vatican to organize a potential papal trip to the country.
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists that the “visit at the highest level should be worked out, and preparations should precede” a meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis.
In a recent interview with Reuters, Pope Francis expressed his hope to travel to Moscow as soon as possible after his trip to Canada in late July.
He said that there have already been contacts by Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about a possible papal trip to Moscow.
Pope Francis has been trying to open a line of communication with Russia since the start of the war, making the unprecedented move of personally visiting the Russian embassy the day Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
The Pope has received an invitation from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit Kyiv, yet the Pope says that in order to make the case for peace in the region, he must first go to Moscow.
JM
