His remarks come after Turkish President Erdogan proposed hosting a summit to resolve the war, following discussions with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy in Istanbul.

Zelenskiy has expressed a commitment to peace without ceding territory and demands the withdrawal of Russian forces as part of his conditions for negotiations, which Russia has currently rejected.

The Pope's encouragement for Ukraine to not be embarrassed to negotiate despite the challenging circumstances was shared during an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI.

He highlighted the bravery in choosing to negotiate and stressed the importance of international support in talks. Despite Zelenskiy's silence on the Pope's comments, the Pope has offered his willingness to mediate the conflict.

He emphasized that negotiation does not equate to surrender, citing the Israeli-Hamas situation as an example. The war, initiated by Russia's invasion in February 2022, has resulted in significant Ukrainian military and civilian casualties.