The scene had amazed diplomats around the world. On the morning of February 25, 2022, barely twenty-four after the start of the Russian assault in Ukraine, Pope Francis went to the Russian Embassy, located via Della Conciliazione, near the Holy See. According to the press release published after this visit, he wanted “Express your concern about the war in Ukraine”. This clumsy approach, breaking with diplomatic uses, was the first episode of a series of errors, errors of judgment and ambiguities on the part of Jorge Bergoglio, died Monday April 21, 2025, at the end of his pontificate on the Russian-Ukrainian issue. Of all the international files that the Argentinian Pope had to manage during the twelve years of his pontificate, the war triggered by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia will have been one of the most thorny.
Until May 2022, François never stopped calling for the end of the fighting, refusing to recognize the responsibility of Vladimir Putin and Russia. In favor of a conflict resolution by the discussion, he had also said to wish to see Vladimir Putin first before going to kyiv. Las, faced with the Russian president's refusal to respond to his calls for mediation, the Pope had ended up publicly regretting his attitude, indicating that he would still continue “To insist”.
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Source: Lemonde