Pope Welcomes Russia's New Ambassador to Vatican
2023-09-19
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1Pope Francis has officially welcomed Russia's new ambassador to the Vatican.
2The leader of the Roman Catholic Church met with Ambassador Ivan Soltanovsky Monday in Vatican City as the diplomat presented his official documents.
3Soltanovsky is replacing Ambassador Alexander Avdeev.
4Avdeev met with Francis in February 2022 at Russia's Embassy in Rome, the day after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
5Soltanovsky's visit came shortly after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the government was ready to meet again with the Catholic Church's Ukraine peace envoy, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi.
6"The Vatican is continuing its efforts.
7The papal envoy will come back (to Russia) soon," Lavrov said last Friday.
8He was speaking to a group of diplomats and ambassadors during a discussion about Ukraine in Moscow.
9Zuppi was appointed by Pope Francis in May.
10Since then, he has visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, as well as Moscow, Washington D.C. and Beijing.
11At first, Zuppi's efforts seemed centered on a program that seeks to reunite Ukrainian children taken to Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
12However, the diplomat also discussed restarting grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports during talks with Chinese officials in Beijing.
13When he returned to Italy, Zuppi said his talks in Beijing resulted in an important sharing of ideas.
14He also expressed hope about Lavrov's comments about a second visit.
15During a trip to Moscow in June, Zuppi met with Russia's minister for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, and an adviser to President Vladimir Putin.
16The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in late March for Lvova-Belova and Putin.
17The court accused them of kidnapping children from Ukraine. Russian officials have denied organizing any forced adoptions during the war.
18Zuppi spoke to the TV2000 broadcaster of the Italian bishops conference over the weekend.
19He said Lavrov's openness to a second meeting was "important because peace is made through dialogue and finding the possible and necessary spaces."
20Francis has followed the Holy See's tradition of neutrality in conflicts by trying to keep open paths of negotiation with both Ukraine and Russia.
21I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Pope Francis has officially welcomed Russia's new ambassador to the Vatican. 2The leader of the Roman Catholic Church met with Ambassador Ivan Soltanovsky Monday in Vatican City as the diplomat presented his official documents. 3Soltanovsky is replacing Ambassador Alexander Avdeev. Avdeev met with Francis in February 2022 at Russia's Embassy in Rome, the day after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. 4Soltanovsky's visit came shortly after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the government was ready to meet again with the Catholic Church's Ukraine peace envoy, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi. 5"The Vatican is continuing its efforts. The papal envoy will come back (to Russia) soon," Lavrov said last Friday. He was speaking to a group of diplomats and ambassadors during a discussion about Ukraine in Moscow. 6Zuppi was appointed by Pope Francis in May. Since then, he has visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, as well as Moscow, Washington D.C. and Beijing. 7At first, Zuppi's efforts seemed centered on a program that seeks to reunite Ukrainian children taken to Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. However, the diplomat also discussed restarting grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports during talks with Chinese officials in Beijing. 8When he returned to Italy, Zuppi said his talks in Beijing resulted in an important sharing of ideas. He also expressed hope about Lavrov's comments about a second visit. During a trip to Moscow in June, Zuppi met with Russia's minister for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, and an adviser to President Vladimir Putin. 9The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in late March for Lvova-Belova and Putin. The court accused them of kidnapping children from Ukraine. Russian officials have denied organizing any forced adoptions during the war. 10Zuppi spoke to the TV2000 broadcaster of the Italian bishops conference over the weekend. He said Lavrov's openness to a second meeting was "important because peace is made through dialogue and finding the possible and necessary spaces." 11Francis has followed the Holy See's tradition of neutrality in conflicts by trying to keep open paths of negotiation with both Ukraine and Russia. 12I'm Bryan Lynn. 13The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 14________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16envoy -n. someone sent to represent their government in another country 17adoption - n. a legal process in which individuals officially become the parents of someone else's child 18dialogue - n. a official discussion between countries or groups of people