Pope: ‘War is madness’

Pope Francis urged continued prayers for peace in Ukraine at the general audience of February 9.

I wish to thank all the people and communities who, on 26 January last, joined in prayer for peace in Ukraine. Let us continue to implore the God of peace that tensions and threats of war be overcome through serious dialogue, and that the “Normandy Format” talks may also contribute to this. Let us not forget: war is madness!

The “Normandy Format” is a four-pronged diplomatic configuration set up in 2014, which brings together Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany. This discussion was recently “activated” by Emmanuel Macron in order to counter the recent escalation of tensions at the Russian-Ukrainian border. With this in mind, the French President traveled to Moscow on February 7 and then to Kiev on February 8 to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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