POPE FRANCIS CALLS ON RUSSIA & UKRAINE TO STOP THE FIGHTING, CONFIRMS HIS WILLINGNESS TO MEDIATE

Pope Francis urged Ukraine and Russia to stop hostilities, and expressed his readiness to send representatives to Moscow and Kiev to organize negotiations, according to “Russia Today” news agency.

“Pope Francis calls on the parties to the Ukrainian conflict to stop offensive attempts and sit down at the negotiating table,” said Leonid Sevastyanov, head of the World Confederation of Old Believers (ARC), who recently held talks with the Pope.

Pope Francis stressed that “the desires of the parties can only be fulfilled at the negotiating table and not on the battlefield.”

Sevastyanov said that the Pope is ready, if Moscow and Kiev so wish, to send representatives at any time, to help start the negotiation process.