Moscow sees Pope Francis' controversial comments on the war in Ukraine not as a call for Ukraine to capitulate, rather as a plea for negotiation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, according to Russian media.
President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly expressed willingness to negotiate, Peskov said. "That is the preferred path."
In an interview with Swiss public television recorded in early February, Francis said the strongest actor was the one that "thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates."
He did not name Ukraine or Russia in his remarks, which came to light only over the weekend. The full interview is to be broadcast on March 20.
The pope's comments drew sharp criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Peskov accused the West of exacerbating the conflict, referring in particular to a comment last month from Emmanuel Macron in which the French president did not rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine.
"That is a dangerous line, a very dangerous line," Peskov said. He added that Russia was following the situation closely and that Moscow had information that there were people in Ukraine who were described as advisors but who were directly linked to NATO.
