Donald Trump’s proposal to use the Vatican as a neutral venue for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has met with a cold response from the Kremlin. Despite the U.S. president’s announcement that the newly elected Pope Leo XIV expressed interest in the idea, Moscow is in no hurry to accept the invitation.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, Russian officials currently have no plans for President Vladimir Putin to visit the Vatican or any other country for negotiations. Instead, the Kremlin is focused on technical-level discussions that began recently in Istanbul and are expected to continue there.
“There are no agreements to hold negotiations in the Vatican,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Thursday. Nevertheless, European diplomats say conversations are ongoing about a possible role for the Vatican as host or mediator in future peace talks. According to insiders, a new round could happen as early as next week — if Russia agrees to participate.
U.S. officials, for their part, are closely coordinating with Ukraine to ensure the talks proceed. They are also signaling to Moscow that they would prefer to avoid the participation of hardliners like Putin’s aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation during the previous Istanbul talks.
Trump Advocates for the Vatican, the Kremlin Responds Cautiously
Following a two-hour phone call earlier this week between Trump and Putin — which failed to produce any Russian commitment to a ceasefire — Trump stated that Pope Leo XIV had shown “great interest” in hosting peace talks. On his platform Truth Social, Trump wrote:
“The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!”
However, Moscow does not consider the Vatican a neutral party. According to Kremlin-aligned political analyst Sergei Markov, “Putin won’t travel to Italy — a NATO member state — due to security concerns, and Russia does not see the Vatican as an impartial actor.”
Religious tensions further complicate the matter. Relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church remain strained. The only meeting between a Pope and a Russian Patriarch since the Great Schism of 1054 occurred in Havana in 2016. Today, the Orthodox Church, led by Patriarch Kirill — a staunch supporter of the Kremlin — openly opposes the Vatican’s involvement, viewing it as a historical rival in Ukraine and blaming it for staying silent about the closure of pro-Moscow churches.
Legal Obstacles and Diplomatic Constraints
Another major hurdle is legal: Italy is a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in March 2023 for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Technically, Italy would be obliged to detain Putin if he set foot on its soil.
Even if this obstacle were somehow bypassed, the talks are far from reaching a stage that would justify a high-level summit with Trump, Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. There was no mention of a summit during the Trump-Putin phone call.
The Holy See Shows Willingness, But Moscow Leans Toward Turkey
Despite these challenges, the Vatican remains willing to act as a mediator. According to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Pope Leo XIV confirmed his readiness to host the next round of talks. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, during a visit to Vilnius, also expressed support, stating: “A resolution to the conflict must begin with a ceasefire. We have worked jointly with Italy on involving the Pope in peace efforts.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Holy See on social media for its willingness to serve as a platform for direct talks. The Vatican has a long history of mediating international conflicts, including helping to normalize U.S.-Cuba relations in 2014 and resolving a near-war border dispute between Chile and Argentina in 1978.
Meanwhile, in Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine held their first face-to-face meeting since the early days of the war. Russia revived its previous demands, including Ukrainian recognition of four occupied regions in the south and east — territories that remain only partially under Kremlin control.
Bloomberg reports that Russia now views Turkey as the most suitable venue for further talks and insists on involving the same negotiating team from the aborted 2022 process. According to a senior European official, this move signals Moscow’s desire to return negotiations “back to square one.”
Zelensky and European leaders accuse Putin of deliberately stalling peace efforts to buy time for a renewed military offensive.
The Situation Remains Uncertain
Given the political, legal, and religious barriers, the Vatican is a highly problematic venue for any peace talks involving Russia. As independent religious analyst Ksenia Luchenko told Bloomberg:
“The Vatican as a platform for talks will be a very difficult choice for the Kremlin. If this is the only chance for Putin to have his mega deal with Trump, then he would probably go to the Vatican, but first he would try to offer all kinds of alternatives.”
For now, despite Trump’s ambitions and the Vatican’s openness, peace remains elusive — and Europe’s largest conflict since World War II shows no signs of ending soon.
This article was prepared based on materials published by Bloomberg. The author does not claim authorship of the original text but presents their interpretation of the content for informational purposes.
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