"Completely understandable": the Kremlin gave an assessment of the Pope's statement regarding the "white flag"

The Kremlin considers the Pope's statement regarding the "white flag" to be completely understandable / UNIAN collage, photo ua.depositphotos.com, photo by REUTERS The Kremlin considers Pope Francis' call for negotiations regarding Ukraine to be completely understandable. This was stated by the press secretary of the Kremlin Dmytro Peskov, Reuters informs.

According to him, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken about Russia's readiness and openness to negotiations, but Ukraine rejected such proposals.

"Unfortunately, recently both the statements of the Pope and the repeated statements of other parties, including ours, have been completely rejected," said Peskov.

He also noted that the situation on the battlefield showed that the West's hopes of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia were mistaken.

"This is the deepest delusion, the deepest mistake, and the course of events, primarily on the battlefield, is the clearest evidence," the Kremlin spokesman added.

Scandalous statement of the Pope

The other day, Pope Francis said that it is time for Ukraine to "throw away the white flag" and start negotiations with the Russian Federation. According to the pontiff, "the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people, has the courage to raise the "white flag" and conduct negotiations will be stronger."

He added that negotiations should take place with the help of international mediators.

Subsequently, the Vatican explained the high-profile statement of the Pope regarding the war. The director of the Vatican press service, Matteo Bruni, noted that when speaking about the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis used the phrase "white flag" without implying that the Ukrainian side should capitulate.

According to the spokesman, the image of the "white flag" was used by the interviewer during the conversation with the pontiff, and the Pope responded by using the suggested phrase to indicate a truce that can be achieved through negotiations.

Despite this, Ukraine and the international community sharply condemned the pontiff's statement. In particular, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland and members of the Bundestag made relevant statements.

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