Rome consultations: Russian Foreign Ministry allowed talks with Ukraine in Vatican
The Russian Foreign Ministry does not rule out that a new round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine may take place in the Vatican, Izvestia found out. However, a decision on the location of the next meeting has not yet been made. At the same time, Pope Leo XIV had previously confirmed his readiness to provide the parties with a platform in the Vatican. The EU is interested in the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations taking place in Europe, so that the countries of the association could participate in the settlement of the conflict, experts say. Whether it is possible to move the negotiating platform from Turkey, and what this may mean for the Russian Federation and Ukraine, is in the Izvestia article.
New negotiations between Russia and Ukraine
The Russian Foreign Ministry does not rule out that a new round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine may take place in the Vatican.
— There are such chances, but it is always a matter of mutual desire of the parties. There is a format called "negotiations on negotiations", where the venue, agenda, subject matter are preliminarily agreed upon, and the framework for the composition of delegations is stipulated. This kind of thing is done before the meeting," Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador—at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, told Izvestia. — Potentially, not only Rome can be considered as a platform for negotiations, but only exclusively after mutual agreement of the parties.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal newspaper, citing sources, wrote that a new round of negotiations between the parties to the conflict could take place in the Vatican in mid-June. According to their information, the head of the White House, Donald Trump, admitted in a conversation with European leaders that he could send a high-ranking delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Keith Kellogg to these talks.
Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV, who was enthroned on May 18, proposed the Vatican as a platform for Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. Finnish President Alexander Stubb has admitted that a technical dialogue between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations will take place in the Vatican next week.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, reacting to the pope's initiative, said that no decision had yet been made on the venue of the talks.
Holding a meeting in the Vatican could become problematic from the point of view of EU sanctions. However, Rome, according to The Washington Post, allegedly assured the Russian side that it would provide diplomatic delegations with access to the Vatican. Italy, in accordance with the Lateran Agreement of 1929, which established the Vatican, is obliged to provide missions with safe passage to the territory of the enclave state. At the same time, a successful "test case" was the unhindered visit of the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Olga Lyubimova, who attended the funeral of Pope Francis in April, although she is under EU sanctions. At the same time, the minister was unable to attend the enthronement of the new pope. The Russian ministry clarified that Lyubimova was unable to travel due to a technical reason "due to the inconsistency of the air route."
The Vatican is not a member of the EU and NATO, and was not included in the list of "unfriendly" countries. Currently, this is the most neutral territory in Europe, emphasizes Svetlana Gavrilova, head of the INF Program Department.
— Europe is afraid of being "left out" because it does not want to radically change its position in order to remain with a decent face. But at the same time, she understands that it is impossible not to change her. Perhaps this is a compromise option, although it does not seem 100% likely to me, since it is difficult to organize from a technical point of view," she told Izvestia.
Switzerland had previously claimed the role of mediator in the Ukrainian settlement. However, Bern joined almost all EU anti-Russian sanctions and actually took a pro-Ukrainian position. Switzerland has lost its uniqueness as a neutral negotiating platform, which was previously considered, and therefore the only option now is the Vatican, Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at the HSE Center for Mediterranean Studies, emphasized in a conversation with Izvestia.
Who is interested in moving the talks to the Vatican
The ruling coalition in Italy may also be interested in organizing negotiations in Europe, Svetlana Gavrilova believes. According to La Repubblica newspaper, Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni is personally responsible for determining the dates and format of a possible meeting in the Vatican.
The Italian prime minister has recently been trying to increase Italy's importance on the world stage. It was in Rome that negotiations between the United States and Iran on a nuclear deal mediated by Oman took place earlier. In addition, meetings of representatives of the United States and the EU on trade issues will be held in the republic against the background of the tariff war unleashed by Washington.
Trump is also probably interested in moving the negotiations to a new venue. The current American leader had a difficult relationship with the Turkish authorities during his first term as president, in particular, due to Ankara's purchases of Russian S-400 air defense systems. Despite the fact that Washington has now eased sanctions against Turkey, relations between the two countries are hardly ideal, and Trump does not have many levers of influence on Turkey. On the other hand, he has a good personal relationship with Meloni, and Leo XIV is from Chicago. At the same time, Reuters wrote that before heading the Holy See, he criticized Trump's policies. Nevertheless, Leo XIV adheres to conservative views on socio-political issues, as do representatives of the Republican Party.
The Pope seeks to maintain ties with Kiev. After taking office, he met with Vladimir Zelensky. The Ukrainian president thanked the pontiff for the offer to hold direct talks in the Vatican.
Pope Leo XIV at a meeting with President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and his wife Elena Zelenskaya, May 18, 2025.
— Istanbul is quite a comfortable point for the Ukrainian side, given the close relations between Erdogan and Zelensky, military-technical cooperation and Ankara's common political position. However, on many issues, Turkey takes a "dissident" position in NATO and in the Western community as a whole, Andrei Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Club, told Izvestia. — In this sense, if we are talking about preserving the Western coalition as much as possible, maybe the Vatican is more convenient than Istanbul.
At the same time, the new leadership of the Vatican probably understands that holding such an event can enhance its image.
— The new pope wants to position himself as an influential player and mediator in solving international problems. This proposal is natural and beneficial for the Vatican," says Andrei Kortunov.
According to him, Russia could be interested in moving the venue for negotiations, since Turkey has been taking a more pro-Ukrainian position for three years. In addition, the media reported that Turkish representatives remained in the negotiating room where the Russian-Ukrainian meeting was taking place, although it was initially assumed that the conversation between representatives of Moscow and Kiev would be one-on-one.
— Apparently, Turkey claims a more substantive and active role in these negotiations. Probably, such a position could cause some irritation on the Russian side, since, as is known, for three years the general attitude towards the conflict in Ankara has been closer to Ukraine than to Russia," he said. — It can be said that Turkey is completely neutral only with great reservations.
Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul, May 16, 2025
However, there is an opposite opinion. The Vatican is not a neutral territory, but a structure tightly integrated into the Western system, says MGIMO Professor Elena Ponomareva.
Secondly, the contradictions in the politics of Rome and the Orthodox Church are obvious and have deep historical roots. And we also protect Orthodox people in Ukraine. The postponement of negotiations to the Vatican is beneficial only to Zelensky and his supervisors," she told Izvestia.
Other possible sites besides Turkey are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The countries of the Global South — Brazil, India and other states that have put forward peace initiatives - can also accept negotiations. However, they are geographically far from this conflict.
How did the negotiations go in Turkey
The first direct Russian-Ukrainian talks since 2022 were resumed in Istanbul on May 16. Initially, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed holding a meeting in Turkey on the 15th, but in the end, the parties postponed it for a day.
The negotiations lasted almost two hours. Following their results, the head of the Russian delegation, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky, said that in the coming days a prisoner exchange would take place between Russia and Ukraine according to the "1000 to 1000" formula. The Russian side has already handed over a list of names for the exchange, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "We have not yet received a counter list from Kiev. We are waiting," he told Interfax.
At the same time, Ukraine has requested direct talks between Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky. Moscow took this request into consideration, Medinsky noted. In addition, the parties agreed to present their vision of a possible future ceasefire.
On May 19, Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Donald Trump, where the Ukrainian crisis was in the spotlight.
— We have agreed with the President of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace treaty, defining a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement, and so on, including a possible ceasefire for a certain time if appropriate agreements are reached. agreements," the Russian president said after the phone call.
After the conversation, Vladimir Zelensky allowed the signing of a memorandum between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which will lead to an agreement on ending the conflict. According to him, Kiev will be waiting for the Russian version of the document.
It is noteworthy that the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andrei Ermak, said: Kiev will discuss the continuation of negotiations with Moscow only after the prisoner exchange. "Our position is clear: the first step should be an agreement on the exchange of prisoners in the "1000 to 1000" format. The second is to determine the location for the next meeting with representatives of the Russian Federation," he stressed.
— A memorandum on a possible future peace treaty is currently being developed. If the Ukrainians do not accept this mechanism, then the next round may fail," Vladimir Vinokurov, professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia.
The Russian delegation, as in 2022, was led by Vladimir Medinsky, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, at the talks in Istanbul. It also includes Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Igor Kostyukov and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.
In addition, a team of experts was formed, which included Alexander Zorin, First Deputy Head of the Information Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Elena Podobreevskaya, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office for State Policy in the Humanitarian Sphere, Alexey Polishchuk, Director of the Second CIS Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Viktor Shevtsov, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense.
The Ukrainian negotiating group was headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. He was also a member of the delegation from Kiev at the negotiations in the spring of 2022. Then he was a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada. The Ukrainian group consists of 12 people, including the deputy heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the SBU, and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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