Vatican foreign minister meets with officials in Russia to discuss Ukraine conflict

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organizations, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Russia on Aug. 25 to discuss Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.

The Vatican Secretariat of State announced the meeting on its X account the same day, describing it as a meeting where “topics of common interest and current international issues” were discussed between the two parties.

“During the course of the meeting, topics of common interest and current international issues were addressed, with particular attention to the war in Ukraine and the prospects for peace,” the statement on X said.

The meeting took place on the first day of Gallagher’s trip to Russia, Aug. 25–27. Vatican News, the official news outlet of the Holy See, described Gallagher’s trip as “a mission of dialogue and peace.” It is his first trip to Russia since 2021.

According to the schedule published on X by the Vatican Secretariat of State, Gallagher’s meeting with Lavrov on Aug. 25 will be followed by a meeting with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.

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