Popes for decades have sought to visit Moscow as part of the longstanding effort to heal relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, which split with Rome more than 1,000 years ago.
“Of course, it would be necessary for the leader of the Kremlin to make available some window of opportunity.
“I listened and told him: ‘I don’t understand any of this.
But he has also defended the right of Ukrainians to protect their territory from the Russian invasion, in line with Catholic social doctrine.
Francis has given a handful of interviews of late to friendly media emphasizing his call for an end to the war and initiatives to provide humanitarian relief to Ukrainians.