Volodymyr Zelensky and Pope discuss Ukraine’s Peace Plan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a call with Pope Francis on Thursday discussed Ukraine’s peace formula.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the leader of the war-torn nation said that he and the head of the Catholic Church discussed “joint work” to put into action Ukraine’s peace plan.

In the X post, Zelensky wrote that he and the Pontiff “discussed our joint work to put Ukraine’s Peace Formula into action.”

“Over 80 countries are already involved in this process at the level of their representatives. And there will be more of them,” he added.

He also said that he expressed his gratitude “to His Holiness for his Christmas greetings to Ukraine and Ukrainians, as well as his wishes for a just peace for all of us.”

 

“I am grateful to the Holy See for supporting our efforts.”

The Pope and Ukraine

The Pope in his Christmas Day Message had called for an end to the multiple global conflicts, including the one in Ukraine. Before that, in November, renewing his persistent calls for an end to violence in Ukraine and the Middle East, he had stressed that “peace is possible” and that “we must not resign ourselves.”

Additionally, as part of his peace efforts on Ukraine, the pope has sent a special envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to Kyiv, Moscow, Washington, and Beijing.

The Ukrainian leader, as per Reuters, has said that his nation’s peace formula will next be discussed in Davos, Switzerland. However, he is yet to reveal the date.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky first announced his 10 point peace formula in November 2022, at a summit of the Group of 20 major economies. The plan calls for:

1. Radiation and nuclear safety, with a focus on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia.

2. Food security, including a restoration of Ukraine’s grain exports to the world’s poorest nations.

3. Energy security, with a focus on protecting Ukraine’s infrastructure that has been targeted by Russia and price restrictions on Russian energy resources.

4. ‘All for all’ release of prisoners and deportees, including war prisoners and children deported to Russia.

5. Restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity and Russia reaffirming it according to the UN Charter, which the peace plan says is “not up to negotiations”.

6. Withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities, including the restoration of Ukraine’s state borders with Russia.

7. Justice, with the focus on the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute Russian for war crimes it has allegedly committed.

8. Immediate protection of environment.

9. Prevention of escalation of conflict, and building mechanism to “prevent any chance of its repetition. For this it demands the set-up of security architecture in the Euro-Atlantic space, including guarantees for Ukraine.

10. Confirmation of the war’s end, that comes with an official document signed by the involved parties.