The only way to achieve true, stable and just peace is by having all sides of a conflict involved in dialogue, Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin said. Source: CNS.
“The Holy See expresses its hope that the diplomatic effort currently being promoted by Ukraine and supported by so many countries will be improved, in order to achieve the results that the victims deserve and that the entire world is hoping for,” he said in his speech at a peace summit in Switzerland.
Upon Ukraine’s request, Switzerland organised a Summit on Peace in Ukraine on June 15-16.
Switzerland invited more than 160 heads of state and other government leaders to kick-start a peace process by developing “a common understanding of a path towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.
About 100 delegations, including 57 heads of state and governments, attended the conference.
Russia, which escalated its attacks on Ukraine with a full-scale assault in 2022, was not invited after it had indicated multiple times it had no interest in participating.
China, repeatedly called on by international leaders to use its leverage to bring Russia to the negotiating table, was also absent.
Cardinal Parolin, who led the Vatican delegation, said it is “important to reiterate that the only means capable of achieving true, stable and just peace is dialogue between all the parties involved”.
“In the face of war and its tragic consequences, it is important never to give up, but to continue to seek ways to end the conflict with good intentions, trust and creativity,” he said.
He praised Ukraine for working “continuously on the diplomatic front, eager to achieve a just and lasting peace”, all while “making enormous efforts to defend itself from aggression”.
The Vatican participated in the summit as an observer state and, as such, did not sign the final joint communiqué on a peace framework meant to be the basis for a peace agreement to end Russia’s two-year war.
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Lasting peace requires all warring parties in dialogue, cardinal says (CNS via USCCB)
