Russia, Vatican agree to continue humanitarian cooperation on Ukraine

Russia and the Vatican have reaffirmed their mutual readiness to cooperate on humanitarian issues related to the conflict in Ukraine, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations Paul Richard Gallagher said after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

According to Gallagher, the discussions covered a range of humanitarian matters, including the return of children to their families, the situation of prisoners of war and detained civilians, information-sharing on missing people, family reunification and assistance for the wounded.

“The position of the Holy See remains unchanged: the conflict cannot be resolved by military means. It is necessary to create the conditions for serious political and diplomatic work, genuine dialogue must be pursued, and it must be recognised that the longer the conflict continues, the more difficult it will be to reach an adequate resolution, while the suffering of the population will continue and increase,” Gallagher said.

He added that the two sides had agreed to maintain coordination on humanitarian issues while avoiding their politicisation.

By Tamilla Hasanova