Vladimir Putin once again congratulated the pontiff on his election and wished him every success in accomplishing his noble mission.
Both sides acknowledged Pope Francis' immense personal contribution to strengthening the ties between Russia and the Holy See. They agreed to pursue efforts to develop these ties further on the basis of common spiritual and moral values with a view to establishing a more just world order. They expressed mutual commitment to deepening cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian affairs and in the name of protecting Christians and holy sites of Christianity all over the world and, notably, in the Middle East.
At the request and on behalf of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Vladimir Putin conveyed to Pope Leo XIV best wishes for success in his pastoral duties. In turn, the pontiff expressed support for continuing the important dialogue between the two sister churches.
While exchanging views with the pope on the situation in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his willingness to achieve peace through political and diplomatic means, pointing out that in order to reach an ultimate, fair, and thorough resolution, it was necessary to eliminate the root causes of the crisis.
Concerning the resumption of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, the President of Russia detailed the specific agreements during the second round of negotiations involving the exchange of prisoners of war and bodies of dead soldiers. It was emphasised that the Russian side was taking all possible measures to reunite children with their families.
Appreciation was expressed to the pontiff for his willingness to contribute to resolving the crisis, notably, for Vatican's depolitisised participation in solving pressing humanitarian issues.
Vladimir Putin drew special attention to the fact that Kiev regime was banking on escalating the conflict and carried out sabotage against civilian infrastructure in Russia's territory. It was emphasised that the deliberate and targeted strike on civilians made by the Ukrainian side recently was unequivocally defined as terrorism by international law.
Due to the Kiev regime's well-known commitment to dismantling the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the hope was expressed that the Holy See would be more active in speaking out in support of freedom of religion in Ukraine.
The conversation was constructive. Both sides expressed their intention to maintain contact.