Pope Francis has met with Russian Ambassador Alexander Avdeev to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, Russian Embassy in the Vatican told Sputnik on Friday.
“In the morning, Pope Francis personally arrived at the embassy and had a conversation with Ambassador Alexander Avdeev.
“The conversation lasted about 40 minutes,’’ a spokesperson for the diplomatic mission said.
“Pope Francis expressed great concern about the situation of the entire (Ukrainian) population, both in the breakaway region of Donbas, and in other areas.”
He called for care for children, the sick, the suffering and the entire masses.
According to him, this is the main Christian goal.
Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday after the Donbas breakaway republics appealed for help in the wake of attacks by the Ukrainian Army.
Moscow maintains that it has no intention to occupy Ukraine, and that the Russian operation targets only military infrastructure in the country.