Senior Vatican Diplomat Calls for End to Ukraine War After Moscow Meeting With Lavrov
A top Vatican official, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, urged an urgent end to the war in Ukraine following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. The two sides agreed to cooperate on humanitarian issues, including care for children affected by the conflict.
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, a senior Vatican diplomat whose role is comparable to a foreign minister, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday and afterward called for the war in Ukraine to end.
Speaking at a joint press conference following the meeting, Gallagher said the ongoing conflict keeps producing new victims and is making eventual reconciliation harder to achieve. He described ending the war and looking beyond it as an urgent necessity.
Gallagher said he and Lavrov had discussed possible paths toward peace in Ukraine. The two also agreed to work together on humanitarian matters, including assistance for children affected by the fighting.
First Moscow Visit Since Before the Invasion
Gallagher, the second-ranking diplomatic official at the Vatican, had not visited Moscow for talks with Lavrov since 2021 — the year before President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Pope Leo has repeatedly called for the war to end. Earlier this month, he expressed sorrow over the steadily rising number of civilian casualties, including children, caused by the conflict.
Gallagher said Tuesday that the Vatican would continue offering strong spiritual, diplomatic and humanitarian support, including by providing a space for dialogue aimed at ending the war.
