Pope Francis in an interview said that Russian aggression may have been provoked by the NATO expansion and the West’s attitude towards Russia in general. Speaking to Italian news agency Corriere Della Sera, Pope Francis said that NATO was barking at Russia’s doorsteps.
“NATO barking at Russia’s gate may have compelled Putin to unleash the invasion of Ukraine.I have no way of telling whether his rage has been provoked but I suspect it was may be facilitated by the West’s attitude,” Pope Francis was quoted as saying during the interview with Luciano Fontana of the Corriere Della Sera.
During his interview, the Pope also expressed his concern that it may be hard to deter the Russian president Vladimir Putin from the path he has chosen.
The US and its western allies, like the UK, have said on several occasions that Russia’s actions were unprovoked but many reports highlighted that former diplomats and lawmakers warned the US regarding NATO’s expansion fearing a Russian retaliation.
The US and its allies, however, are still adamant that it was Russia who created this scenario and continue to sanction the nation and seek allies to form a bloc to further isolate Moscow internationally.
‘Must Meet Putin’
He also said that he was eager to meet the Russian president and expressed his desire to travel to Moscow but said that he was yet to receive a response from the Russians.
“I must go to Moscow, I want to meet Putin first of all. But in the end I am just a priest, what can I possibly achieve? I’ll do what I can,” the Pope said while pointing out that he is not ready to travel to Kyiv at the moment. He told the Italian news agency that he is keen to travel to Moscow first.
The Pope also hinted that supplying weapons to Ukrainian forces may be counterproductive. He, however, clarifies that he is unsure as to what should be done in this scenario. “What seems indisputable is that in that country both sides are trying out new weapons. The Russians have just found out that tanks are useless and they might be developing new weapons. Wars are fought for this reason too: to test your arsenals. This is what happened in the Spanish Civil War, before the Second World War,” the Pope said. He also denounced the production and the sale of armaments calling it a disgrace, and said that only a few are bold enough to stand up against the sale of weapons.
When asked regarding what role Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, can take to stop the war, Pope Francis reflected on the conversation they had earlier. He said that Kirill was reading from a piece of paper he was holding in his hand which listed all the reasons that justified the Russian invasion.
“A Patriarch can’t lower himself to become Putin’s altar boy,” Pope Francis said.
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