President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska have been granted an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis in Vatican City State on Saturday, during which Zelensky invited Pope Francis to visit Ukraine in order to see the situation in Donbas, according to the press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
During the meeting, the head of state said that the Holy See could play an important role in bringing peace to Ukraine.
“The main thing we talked about is peace. He [Pope Francis] even called me “president of peace” – this is my image in Europe now,” Zelensky said after the audience.
He also noted that His Holiness Pope Francis is very much welcome in Ukraine, where he enjoys extremely high support and trust.
“I invited him to Ukraine. I am sure he will visit Ukraine – not only its capital. I said that one should visit eastern Ukraine in order to fully understand what is going on there,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky and Pope Francis also discussed humanitarian initiatives to help children and protect the environment.
“I am extremely grateful to His Holiness for the “Pope for Ukraine” initiative, which helped 900,000 war-stricken Ukrainians in Donbas,” Zelensky said.
