Vatican after visit to Moscow: 'Isolation of countries does not help'

"We went to Moscow to talk about peace," said Gallagher after returning from the Russian capital. One of the main topics of the negotiations was the possible cessation of the war in Ukraine. On Friday, the archbishop met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, President Putin's assistant for foreign policy Yuri Ushakov, and representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate. As noted by Polish Polsat News, this was the first visit of the head of Vatican diplomacy to Moscow since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. ### 'The right path is to maintain dialogue' In an interview with Vatican News, Gallagher explained that the meetings in Moscow are part of the Holy See's diplomatic line aimed at preserving opportunities for negotiations. "We are convinced that this is the right path and that the isolation of people or countries, frankly speaking, does not help," said the archbishop. According to him, the Vatican has maintained an open channel of communication with Sergey Lavrov for many years, and the contacts concern not only the war in Ukraine. Gallagher also pointed out the role of the Orthodox Christian tradition in Russia and stated that there are issues where the interests of Moscow and the Holy See intersect. "We are united by concern for Christians facing difficulties in various parts of the world," said the Vatican representative. He noted that this concerns not only direct persecution of Christians but also issues of security, discrimination, prejudice, and marginalization. According to the archbishop, Russia is also interested in this topic, and the parties are trying to revive joint efforts in this direction. ### 'Many unhealed wounds' At the same time, Gallagher acknowledged that the path to negotiations for the cessation of the war in Ukraine remains extremely difficult. According to him, dialogue is complicated by "many unhealed wounds." However, the head of Vatican diplomacy believes that diplomatic contacts must be maintained even in the current situation. He reminded that wars ultimately end with negotiations and agreements, after which the process of restoring relations between former adversaries begins. "In this sense, diplomacy gives hope for a possible solution," said the archbishop. Thus, after the Moscow visit, the Vatican reaffirmed its line to maintain contacts with Moscow and seek opportunities for dialogue, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.