Lavrov dismisses Vatican as possible venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks

"Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on May 24 cast doubt on the Vatican as a possible venue for future peace talks with Ukraine, saying the Catholic seat would not be an appropriate platform for negotiations between two Orthodox Christian nations.

Previously, Pope Leo XIV expressed his willingness to host the next round of peace talks in the Vatican. Several of Ukraine's partners, including the United States, have suggested that the Vatican could become a neutral platform for further negotiations.
"Imagine the Vatican as a venue for negotiations," Lavrov reportedly said during a speech at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow. “It would be a bit inelegant for Orthodox countries to use a Catholic platform to discuss issues on how to remove the root causes (of the war)."
Lavrov added that he believed "it would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances." KI