The Vatican is trying to interpret the Pope's words about the white flag

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, in an interview reported by Vatican News, that Pope Francis did not mean Ukraine's surrender when he spoke of raising the white flag.

He added: "The Pope used the symbol of the white flag, which was suggested by the interlocutor, to indicate the cessation of hostilities and the truce reached by negotiation. Elsewhere in the interview, and speaking about another situation of conflict, the Pope clearly said: Negotiations are never surrender."

The Vatican spokesman stressed, "The Supreme Pontiff hopes to reach a diplomatic solution to achieve a just and lasting peace."

Earlier, in an interview with the Swiss broadcaster RSI, the Pope said that in the conflict in Ukraine, the losing side must find the courage to "raise the white flag" and agree to negotiations .

It is known that Russia announced many times that it is ready for negotiations, but the Kiev regime imposed a ban on negotiations at the legislative level. The Russian side emphasizes that the situation in Ukraine can move to a peaceful path, provided that the actual situation and new facts are taken into account and all Moscow's demands are well known.