Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow today, the first in-person talks between the two since November 2021.
“Since our last meeting five years ago, the world has undergone considerable change, to say the least,” Lavrov said in opening remarks published by the Russian foreign ministry. “We certainly recognise the importance of maintaining a trusting dialogue with all our partners, with a view to finding solutions to the many challenges that have accumulated on the international agenda… despite all the turbulence in the world, we have managed to sustain a trusting and mutually respectful dialogue with the Vatican—one that allows us to seek, I hope, positive and workable solutions.”
Gallagher, for his part, said that every day the war continues “creates new victims… and renders future reconciliation ever more difficult. It is therefore urgent and necessary to end and to look beyond the conflict,” Reuters reported. He confirmed that both sides intend to keep channels of communication open and to cooperate on humanitarian questions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s press release said the conversation was held “in a constructive atmosphere,” with Ukraine “high on the agenda, considering Vatican’s involvement in resolving several humanitarian issues.” Lavrov “talked about the destructive nature of Western policies” and “emphasise[d] the principled importance of addressing the root causes of the crisis,” while praising the Vatican “for its commitment to promoting peaceful approaches” and saying Russia was ready to work closely with the Holy See “on initiatives to reunite families and carry out prisoner exchanges.” The two also discussed the defense of traditional spiritual and moral values, the situation of Christians in various regions, and—as part of a call for common answers to present-day challenges—artificial intelligence. Afterward, in remarks reported by Radio Sputnik, Lavrov added that Moscow expects the Vatican to raise with Kiev the ban on the Russian language and what he called the destruction of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
On Aug. 26, Gallagher is to meet Yuri Ushakov, President Putin’s foreign policy aide. He will also meet representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate and Russia’s Catholic community before departing. Russia’s ambassador to the Holy See, Ivan Soltanovsky, has said Moscow is preparing a new invitation for Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Pope Leo’s peace envoy, who visited Moscow in 2023 and 2024 and was in Kiev in July.
An open letter released Aug. 19 asks Pope Leo XIV to convene the heads of state of the three principal nuclear powers, in the spirit of John XXIII’s 1962 appeal. The Vatican is now meeting with top representatives of one of those nations.
