Europe
Putin and Pope Leo XIV speak by phone: Kremlin says Aleshki and Ukraine were discussed
The Kremlin says Vladimir Putin and Pope Leo XIV spoke on 16 October about Ukraine, the humanitarian situation in Aleshki and church dialogue; the Vatican has not published its own account.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Pope Leo XIV on 16 October, the Kremlin said, in a call that covered the war in Ukraine, humanitarian conditions in the town of Aleshki and relations between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic churches. The account comes from the Kremlin’s website; no Vatican statement on the call was found in the Holy See Press Office’s daily bulletin of 17 October.
The Kremlin’s account of the call
According to the Kremlin, Putin opened by wishing the pontiff good health and a speedy recovery after surgery he underwent recently. He then stressed the importance of Russian-Vatican cooperation in promoting common moral values and protecting Christians and Christian shrines around the world.
The Kremlin says both sides expressed interest in maintaining dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.
On Ukraine, the readout says the two men exchanged views on the situation surrounding the conflict and that Putin thanked the Pope for his willingness to contribute to resolving it and for his humanitarian efforts.
Aleshki
The Kremlin says the Pope voiced concern about the fate of civilians in Aleshki, which it describes as a Russian town in the Kherson Region. According to the readout, Putin gave him what the Kremlin calls a comprehensive explanation of the responsibility of the Ukrainian authorities for the difficult humanitarian situation there. That is Moscow’s characterisation of events, and the readout offers no figures or independent confirmation.
The Kremlin adds that support was expressed for the Vatican’s intention to help create the conditions needed to keep the town’s population safe and to begin vital supplies, and that the two sides agreed to cooperate on this. It does not say what form that cooperation will take, who else would be involved, or when it would start. It describes the conversation as “constructive and mutually respectful”.
The call is the latest in a series of Kremlin readouts of Putin’s contacts with foreign leaders. Earlier this month Geopolitiki reported on another one, in which Putin and UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed discuss Russian diesel and the Persian Gulf crisis, Kremlin says.