Vatican urges Ukraine and Russia to swap all POWs in "all for all" agreement
Photo: Reuters
During the Holy Mass in the Vatican, Pope Francis called on the Russian Federation and Ukraine to exchange prisoners of war according to the formula "all for all".
Vatican News reported this.
"May the Risen Christ open the way to peace for the suffering population of these regions (Israel, the Gaza Strip, and Ukraine, – ed.). Calling for respect for the principles of international law, I wish for a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine: all for all!" Francis said.
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At the beginning of March, Pope Francis made an unexpected statement regarding the war on Ukraine's territory in an interview with the Swiss TV channel RSI.
According to the recording, the pontiff said that the strongest is the one who has the courage to raise the "white flag" and negotiate.
"This is one of the interpretations; it is true. But I think that the strongest is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people, has the courage to raise the "white flag" and conducts negotiations," Francis said.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, the second person after the Pope, said that the first condition for any negotiations to end the war in Ukraine is that Russia must stop its aggression.
