Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal has disclosed that he asked Pope Francis during a private Vatican audience on Thursday, April 27, 2023, to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken to Russia.
Last month, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Children’s Commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of war crimes for abducting children from Ukraine. Russia has denied any wrongdoing, contending the children were moved for their safety.
The exact number of Ukrainian children taken to Russia has been difficult to determine. A statement posted Wednesday, April 5, 2023 on Twitter by Ukraine’s U.N.Ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, noted that more than 19,500 children had been seized from their families or orphanages and forcibly deported to Russia.
Briefing reporters on his half-hour audience with the Pontiff, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal divulged that he also invited Pope Francis to come to Ukraine.
“I asked the Vatican and the Holy Father for help in getting back children taken by force by Russia,” the Prime Minister stated.
The Vatican’s brief statement on Shmyhal’s audience with the Pope did not delve into particular points of the talks. It noted that Shmyhal met with the Holy See’s Secretary of State and Foreign Minister after his meeting with Pope Francis.
During the “cordial discussions, which took place in the Secretariat of State, various matters connected to the war in Ukraine were highlighted, with particular attention to the humanitarian aspects and efforts to restore peace,” the Vatican said.
Pope Francis has repeatedly condemned the war in Ukraine, which began more than a year ago with Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. The Pontiff has expressed a desire to visit both Ukraine and Russia in the context of his hopes of improving the prospects for peace.
Shmyhal Discusses Zelenskyy’s Multi-Point Proposal For Peace
Speaking to reporters at the Foreign Press Association in Rome, Shmyhal said that in his talks at the Vatican, he also discussed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s multi-point proposal for peace “and the steps the Vatican could take” in helping that plan become reality. However, he gave no specifics.
The Ukrainian Prime Minister also declined to venture what might next develop in Ukrainian-Chinese relations. Zelenskyy disclosed on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 that he and Chinese leader, Xi Jinping had a “long and meaningful” phone call.
During their conversation, which was the first known contact between the two presidents since the war began in February 2022, Xi said Beijing would send an envoy to Ukraine to discuss a possible “political settlement” to the conflict. The envoy is a former Chinese Ambassador to Russia.
Chinese state TV said in a report on Xi’s comments to Zelenskyy that, “Negotiation is the only viable way out.”
“There is no winner in a nuclear war,” the report said. “All parties concerned should remain calm and restrained in dealing with the nuclear issue and truly look at the future and destiny of themselves and humanity as a whole and work together to manage the crisis,” the report noted.
The hour-long call came two months after Beijing, which has long been aligned with Russia, said it wanted to act as a mediator and a month after Xi visited Moscow.
Shmyhal described the phone call as “very productive” and opined that it marked “a new stage in Ukrainian-Chinese relations.”
“I’m convinced it is a good beginning for our relations in the future,″ the Prime Minister added.
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