The Vatican is not directly involved in the organisation of the talks on Ukraine, but wants to host them

The Vatican is offering its platform for negotiations on Ukraine, but is not directly organising or participating in them, the daily La Repubblica reported.

The process of preparation is largely coordinated by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been holding a series of telephone conversations with her European counterparts and the US side, the paper said.

According to the media, the Italian prime minister aims to set the dates for the first round of negotiations by the end of the week. The plan is to start with technical meetings to prepare the ground for further negotiations, first for talks at ministerial level and then for a summit between Russia and Ukraine.

Meloni intends to hold consultations with French President Emmanuel Macron, EU leadership and other partners, as well as Turkish officials in the near future, the paper noted, adding that a new telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump is also planned. After that, the Vatican will be updated on developments.

While Trump likes the idea of meeting at the Vatican, Macron prefers Switzerland, the publication says. At the same time, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says it is premature to talk about dates and arrangements. The main "unknown", according to the paper, is Moscow, which has not yet received any concrete proposals.

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing its sources, wrote that a new round of talks between Russia and Ukraine could take place at the Vatican in mid-June. According to the newspaper, a US delegation, including US Secretary of State and Acting National Security Adviser Marco Rubio and US Presidential Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, will also attend the talks.

The new Pope Leo XIV has previously stated that the Holy See is ready to support the peace process in Ukraine, including hosting talks. This initiative was welcomed by the US President and European leaders.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place on 16 May in Istanbul. Moscow and Kiev agreed on an exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war from each side, presented their detailed vision of a possible future ceasefire and continued negotiations. The head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, said Russia was satisfied with the negotiations. He also noted that Ukraine had asked for direct talks between representatives of the two countries and Russia had "taken note of this request".

TASS/gnews.cz - cik