President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Francis for the second time in recent months. Their first meeting took place in July during the G7 summit in Italy. This time, during an audience in Rome, Zelenskyy presented the pontiff with a painting “Masakra in Bucha. The Story of Marichka”, which symbolises the tragedy of the Ukrainian people.
The meeting took place against the backdrop of previous disputes between the two leaders. In March, Pope Francis was criticised by Ukrainian officials for calling on Ukraine to “raise the white flag” and seek peace through negotiations with Russia. Zelenskyy responded sharply, calling the pontiff’s position a “distant meditation”.
In response to the gift, Francis handed the Ukrainian president a bronze plaque with the image of a flower and the inscription “Peace is a fragile flower”, as well as the book “Persecuted for the Truth: Ukrainian Greek Catholics Behind the Iron Curtain”.
This meeting is part of Zelenskyy’s large-scale European tour, during which he is presenting his “victory plan” to European leaders. In addition to meeting with the Pope, he held talks with the leaders of the UK, France, Italy and Germany.
Saturday’s summit in Ramstein, Germany, with representatives of 50 allied countries, was postponed due to US President Joe Biden’s decision to stay in the country to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, which caused significant damage to Florida.
Nevertheless, Zelenskyy will hold talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. This is his second trip to Germany in the last five weeks.
