Pope Francis calls war in Ukraine global, says he doesn't believe it will end soon
The Pope does not believe that the war in Ukraine will end soon (Photo:REUTERS / Guglielmo Mangiapane)
Ukraine’s war against Russian aggression is a global conflict, and it will not come to an end soon, head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis said in an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC Sociedad on Dec. 18.
"I do not see an end in the near term because this is a global war,” Pope Francis said.
The Pope, as he has done on previous occasions, appeared to imply that Russia was not solely to blame for its aggressive war of conquest in Ukraine, and that arms manufacturers had provoked and were profiting from the conflict – a claim commonly made by pro-Russian propagandists.
“Let's not forget this. There are many hands stirring up the war pot. It is global. I think war is waged when an empire begins to weaken. And when weapons to be used, tested and sold. There is a great deal at stake," the pontiff said.
"What is happening in Ukraine is terrifying. There is so much cruelty being deployed. This really is very serious. It is what I continue to denounce," he said.
The Pope’s comments about the war in Ukraine have frequently ruffled feathers on both sides of the conflict.
He recently apologized to the Kremlin for comments he made that appeared to imply that non-Christian Russian citizens – Chechens and Buryats – were more responsible for Russian army atrocities in Ukraine that ethnic Russians.
Before that, the Pope earned criticism from Ukraine for appearing to imply that the defense alliance NATO had provoked Russia to invade Ukraine – a common Kremlin propaganda trope.
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