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Pope says Vatican involved in Ukraine, Russia peace mission
The Vatican is involved in a peace mission to try to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Pope Francis has said, declining to give further details.
“I am willing to do everything that has to be done. There is a mission in course now but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it,” the pope told reporters on Sunday during a flight home after a three-day visit to Hungary
“I think that peace is always made by opening channels. You can never achieve peace through closure. This is not easy.”
The pope added that he had spoken about the situation in Ukraine with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and with Metropolitan Hilarion, a bishop representing the Russian Orthodox Church in Budapest. “In these meetings, we did not just talk about Little Red Riding Hood. We spoke of all these things. Everyone is interested in the road to peace,” he said.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Pope Francis has pleaded for peace practically on a weekly basis, and has repeatedly expressed a wish to act as a broker between Kyiv and Moscow. His offer has so far failed to produce any breakthrough.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met the pope at the Vatican on Thursday and said he had discussed a “peace formula” put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said he had also invited the pontiff to visit Kyiv.
Pope Francis, 86, has said previously that he wants to visit Kyiv but also Moscow on a peace mission.
(Aljazeera)
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Latest News
President Trump says the US has ‘captured’ Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country
President Donald Trump says the United States has ‘captured’ Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country after “large-scale” strikes.
Earlier, Venezuela’s government accused the US of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states, as it rejected “military aggression” by Washington. The government of President Maduro had declared a national emergency following the series of attacks.
The attacks came after months of tension with the US, which has accused Venezuelan President Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking. Maduro has denied the accusations.
On Thursday, Maduro indicated he was open to negotiating a deal with the US to combat drug trafficking. The US has carried out more than 20 air strikes in the sea near Venezuela since September, as it slapped sanctions and upped military pressure on Caracas.
(Aljazeera)
The United States Coast Guard has said it has suspended its search for survivors days after the US military said it struck two more boats in the eastern Pacific amid its ongoing military campaign in waters in and around Venezuela.
In a statement shared on its website on Friday, the Coast Guard said the three-day search had been focused on water “approximately 400 nautical miles [about 740km] southwest of the Mexico/Guatemala border” and had continued for more than 65 hours, but that no sightings of survivors had been reported.
(Aljazeera)
At least 7 explosions have been heard in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, followed by a low-flying aircraft, according to The Associated Press. The southern area of the capital city, located near a major military base, was reportedly without electricity.
Venezuela’s government accuses the US of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states; no word from the US.
The explosions come after months of tension with the United States, which has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking. Maduro has denied the accusations.
On Thursday, Maduro indicated he was open to negotiating a deal with the US to combat drug trafficking. The US has carried out more than 20 air strikes in the sea near Venezuela since September, as it slapped sanctions and upped military pressure on Caracas.
(Aljazeera)
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