Rubio denied that the Vatican was becoming a mediator in the settlement in Ukraine

The Vatican will not accept the role of a mediator country in resolving the Ukrainian conflict. This was announced on Saturday, May 17, by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"I wouldn't call him a mediator, but this is definitely a place where I think it would be convenient for both sides to come," the press service of the United States Department of State quoted him as saying.

Thus, the diplomat answered a question from journalists about the possibility of the Vatican becoming a mediator in a peaceful settlement.

It is specified that Rubio had a meeting on that day with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Vatican, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary of State for Relations with States. They discussed the issue of conflict resolution in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Step at the meeting: the results of the first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in three years

The first round of contacts took place in Istanbul — what's next

On May 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the country would play the role of mediator to advance negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and preserve communication channels between the parties. He called Turkey's greatest desire to get results from the peace talks.

A day earlier, the head of the Russian delegation, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky, announced the completion of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul. According to him, the parties agreed on a prisoner exchange in the ratio of 1,000 to 1,000. The Ukrainian side also offered to hold talks between the leaders of the states, and Russia took this request into account.