Daryna Mayer is an NBC News producer and reporter based in Kyiv, Ukraine.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine and its allies have expressed mounting fury at Pope Francis’ suggestion that it should have the “courage” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia. Kyiv’s ambassador to the Vatican told NBC News on Monday that his country could not accept the pontiff’s logic — a hint of the intense backlash drawn by the comments, which are not the first by the pope to elicit anger from Kyiv, at a precarious moment for Ukraine on the battlefield and in the battle over public opinion.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also appeared to address the pope’s remarks Monday, without directly referring to him. “President Putin started this war and he could end it today but Ukraine does not have this option,” Stoltenberg said. “Surrender is not peace.” Francis sparked fury last year by praising Russia’s imperial rulers — the historical pretext that Putin often uses to help justify his invasion.
’s barking at Russia’s door” may have precipitated the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni sought to clarify the pope’s remarks, saying that the term “white flag” was part of the interviewer’s question and the pope was repeating it. The pontiff supported “a cessation of hostilities, a truce reached with the courage of negotiation,” Bruni said, not Ukraine’s outright surrender.
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