Pope Leo told visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday that the Vatican is willing to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks, the Vatican said in a statement. The pope, meeting the Ukrainian leader for the second time in his two-month-old papacy,

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with Pope Leo XIV and thanked him for the Vatican’s efforts to help return children taken by Russia during the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters he was “relying heavily on the Vatican” in peace efforts with Russia, which initiated a full-scale invasion of the country in 2022.