Sawt Falasteen - Vatican's diplomatic arm eyes return to fore with Ukraine talks

Fresh from his election as the first US pope in history, Leo offered last week to mediate between leaders of countries at war. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed on Tuesday that the Vatican was ready to host Ukraine peace talks in particular.

The initiative has been welcomed by Kyiv, Washington and the EU, coming as it does just days after the first talks between the two countries since 2022 produced little of note.

According to a source close to the matter, Kyiv is "discussing" options with three states that could theoretically host fresh negotiations: Switzerland, Turkey and the Vatican.

While "everything is still at a very early stage", the Vatican "could be a good platform, because it's a moral centre that everyone can understand," the source added.

The Vatican declined to comment to AFP or confirm a Wall Street Journal report that the talks could be held at the tiny city state from mid-June.

The walled city, which sits within Rome, has played host to numerous heads of state in recent weeks, first for Pope Francis's funeral and then for the inauguration of his successor, Leo.

The funeral, on April 26, included a quick sit-down between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky inside St. Peter's Basilica.

A European diplomatic source in Rome told AFP the Holy See would certainly support hosting talks.

"It would put it back on the global diplomatic scene after a period, under Francis, where it appeared sidelined on the Holy Land and Ukraine," the source said.

- 'No decision' -

But would Russia's President Vladimir Putin come?

Francois Mabille, a researcher at the Paris-based think tank IRIS and author of a book on Vatican strategy, said the prospect of talks here was "credible" but by no means certain.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday "there have been no agreements on this matter".

Mabille said: "The question is what symbolic benefits he (Putin) could gain from it."

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the Holy See has been at odds with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a close supporter of Putin.

Kirill has defended the invasion, describing the conflict as a "Holy war" -- the polar opposite of the Catholic Church's repeated calls for peace.

It would not be the first time the world's smallest state hosted peace talks.

In 2014, Israeli and Palestinian presidents Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas planted an olive tree in the Vatican gardens alongside Pope Francis, who in 2019 also hosted the feuding leaders of South Sudan.

But experts warn the context this time is very different, with hopes of a peace agreement appearing slim, at least in the short term.

- Shift in form -

Even if the Moscow-Kyiv talks do not happen at the Vatican, the very suggestion they could is giving new impetus to the diplomatic work carried out behind the scenes by the Holy See under Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

While Francis called endlessly for peace, he also broke protocol with sometimes controversial comments, such as when he told Kyiv it should have the "the courage of the white flag".

Just a few days after his election on May 8, Leo marked a clear break by calling instead for a "just and lasting peace" -- a term more in keeping with the European position.

While Francis was an impulsive leader whose off-script comments sometimes put him at odds with his own Secretariat of State, Leo is reaffirming the key role played by the Holy See's diplomatic arm and its global network.

"There is both a shift in content and a shift in form," said Mabille.

"We are moving from a militant pacifist pope to a diplomatic pope," Mabille said.

T.Ibrahim--SF-PST