Vatican unlikely venue for Ukraine peace talks, Apostolic Nuncio Visvaldas Kulbokas says
Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas (photo: Ihor Kuznietsov / RBC-Ukraine)
The Vatican is unlikely to become a venue for peace negotiations on the war in Ukraine due to the Holy See's principled position on international law, Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Commenting on the possibility of holding negotiations at the Vatican, he noted that no state has the right to start a war while hiding behind fabricated arguments.
"I would hope so. But the Holy See constantly emphasizes the importance of international law. No one has the right to start a war because they came up with some arguments. This is an apparent position. Is it realistic, given such a position, to now serve as a platform for negotiations? I do not consider it realistic," he said.
When asked to clarify whether this was related to the Russian side's unwillingness, Kulbokas replied.
"Yes. Given that the Holy See has such a position, that side probably does not really want to choose the Holy See as a platform. This is my view," the Vatican representative noted.
What preceded
The idea of a trilateral meeting among US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Russian President Vladimir Putin was discussed in the summer of 2025.
At that time, according to media reports, European allies began searching for possible venues for such negotiations.
Among potential locations, the Vatican had previously been mentioned. The President of Ukraine stated that Kyiv was ready to consider this proposal. At the same time, several European countries supported an alternative.
In particular, France, Finland, Spain, and Germany proposed holding the meeting in Geneva, considering it a more neutral venue for possible negotiations.
