The Vatican could potentially serve as a venue for hosting cease-fire talks between Russia and Ukraine, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Speaking to reporters in Rome on May 17, Rubio said that he would speak with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi about Pope Leo XIV’s offer to make “every effort” to end the war in Ukraine.
Rubio said that the Vatican would not act as a peace broker between the sides per se, but would provide “a place that both sides would be comfortable going.”
“So we’ll talk about all of that and obviously [we’re] always grateful to the Vatican for their willingness to play this constructive and positive role,” Rubio added.
Rubio also thanked Zuppi for the Vatican’s role in facilitating prisoner exchanges and humanitarian assistance throughout the war during their meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Rome.
The Vatican has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality and has long offered its services and venues to help facilitate peace talks. The late Pope Francis personally entrusted Zuppi with a mandate to try to find paths toward peace.
Leo has since appealed to both sides to strive toward “an authentic, just, and lasting peace” during his first Sunday noon blessing as pope.
The newly elected pope has also taken to social media to urge international leaders to negotiate a swift and just peace to the war.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin repeated the Vatican’s offer to serve as a venue for direct talks, telling reporters that the Vatican could serve as a venue for a direct meeting between Kyiv and Moscow.
“We have always said, repeated to the two sides, that we are available to you, with all the discretion needed,” Parolin said.
“One would aim to arrive at this, that at least they talk. We’ll see what happens. It’s an offer of a place,” he added.
Rubio’s comments come as the Trump administration struggles to get Russia to deeply engage in cease-fire talks.
Ukrainian leadership has acquiesced to Washington’s demands for an unconditional cease-fire. Russian authorities have refused to do so, instead sending counter-offers and new demands each time a breakthrough seems close.
That dynamic continued earlier this week when Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to attend the first direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
“Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth social media platform.
