Kiev should “raise a white flag”: Pope denounces Ukraine, gets angry reactions 27+ cartoons that summarize a hellish week

“I think the stronger person is the one who recognizes the situation, who thinks about the people and who has the courage to raise the white flag, to negotiate,” the pope said in an interview with the Italian-language channel of Swiss television . .

And further: “When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you must have the courage to negotiate. You are ashamed, but how many deaths will there ultimately be? “Don’t be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse,” the head of the Catholic Church stressed. Francis emphasized that negotiation should not be confused with surrender: “It is the courage not to lead the country to suicide.”

The interview won’t be broadcast until March 20, but parts have already been published.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, the pope has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution, using himself personally as a mediator. In the interview, he recalled that the NATO country Turkey had offered itself as a mediator on Friday.

However, it is the first time that Francis has called for a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution in the face of an impending military defeat for Ukraine – that is, in a situation of weakness in which Kiev would most likely have to give up parts of its own territory give up.

Headwinds from European capitals

The reaction to the Pope’s move was outraged – not only in Kiev, but also in other European capitals. It is strange, given the tens of thousands of deaths, that “the Pope is not asking Putin to stop, but instead calling on Ukraine to raise the white flag,” said Ukrainian government adviser Anton Gerashchenko.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski echoed the same sentiments: “What about compensating Putin by encouraging him to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine? Then peace would come immediately, without the need for negotiations,” Sikorski wrote on Sunday

Given the concentrated criticism, the Vatican tried to limit the damage this weekend. Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, stressed to journalists that the pope had used the interviewer’s image of the white flag “to signify the end of hostilities, the ceasefire that was reached with the courage to negotiate’.

Ukrainians have long been disappointed in the Pope

Francis wants nothing more than a just and lasting peace. He feels a “very deep affection” for the Ukrainian people, whose dire situation he discusses at almost every public appearance, most recently in the Angelus prayer after the second anniversary of the outbreak of war. The Pope prays for the countless innocent victims and asks that “a little humanity be found.”

Although the Pope has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war of aggression, since this weekend there has been the impression in Ukraine that the Pope has more understanding for the Russian side than for the Ukrainian side.

This was also evident during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Pope last May; The meeting in the Vatican took place in a tense, almost icy atmosphere. Zelensky called during the meeting for more moral support from the pope and a clear condemnation of Russia’s war crimes. “Victim and aggressor cannot be equated,” Selenski emphasized. (aargauerzeitung.ch)