According to Vatican News of Feb. 28, Vatican Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said that French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that Europe could send ground troops to Ukraine opens a “frightening scenario.” “It’s a truly frightening scenario because it would bring about the escalation that we have always tried to avoid from the beginning. It’s a scenario that I wouldn’t call apocalyptic because perhaps that’s an exaggerated word at this moment, but certainly it’s fearsome,” said Cardinal Parolin, on the sidelines of a Vatican event on Feb. 27. “It would be ideal to really find a way to get the two sides to start talking and dialoguing,” he went on. “I believe that if we talk, a solution will be found. … Various types of solutions have been proposed, the important thing is that there is the will to implement them.”
Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Vatican Secretary of State confirmed that there have been no developments in diplomatic contacts with Israel, reiterating that what the Holy See wants is for dialogue to start, insisting: “Our concern is, first of all, to find a way to have the hostages released and for humanitarian assistance which continues to be very difficult. So the only path is that of a ceasefire.”
