Pope Francis urges to avoid conflict in Ukraine because 'war is madness'
February 9, 2022, 6:05 pm

Pope Francis urges to avoid conflict in Ukraine because 'war is madness'

Pope Francis/Facebook page

The Euronews reported, Pope Francis said he hopes that the diplomatic process will help avoid armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine because "war is madness."

During his general audience Wednesday, the Pope thanked people for participating last month in a day of "prayer for peace" due to the rising tensions in Eastern Europe.

Francis also thanked diplomats from Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France, the countries participating in the so-called "Normandy Format" diplomatic process, for their efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement.

He said: "Let us continue to implore the God of peace that tensions and threats of war be overcome through serious dialogue, and that the 'Normandy Format' talks may also contribute to this."

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Europe has been bracing for the possibility of conflict since late last year, when Russia amassed an estimated 100,000 troops on its shared border with Ukraine.

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Additional Russian forces have been deployed to Belarus in recent days, ostensibly for military exercises. But Western officials are concerned that those deployments could be used by the Kremlin for an invasion.

Source: euronews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.