Pope Leo XIV met with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for External Church Relations, at the Vatican on 26 July, the Vatican press service reported.
The morning papal audience was also attended by five other high-ranking church representatives. Details of the meeting were not disclosed in the official statement.
Since his election to the Holy See in May this year, Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly called for peace and an end to military conflicts around the world.
In July, during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the pontiff expressed the Vatican’s readiness to mediate and make its territory available for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
However, Russian representatives said that they did not consider the Vatican to be a neutral venue for negotiations because it is located inside Italy, a country that is a member of NATO and openly supports Ukraine.