“We should always not play video games with the martyrdom of this folks,” mentioned Pope Francis. (File)
Pope Francis recommended on Saturday that some international locations had been “taking part in video games” with Ukraine by first offering weapons after which contemplating backing out of their commitments.
Pope Francis made his feedback aboard the airplane coming back from a visit to the French port metropolis of Marseilles. He was responding to a reporter’s query about whether or not he was pissed off that his efforts to result in peace had not succeeded. He has despatched an envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to Kyiv, Moscow, Washington and Beijing to fulfill with leaders there.
He mentioned he did really feel “some frustration” after which started speaking randomly in regards to the arms trade and the battle.
“It appears to me that the pursuits on this battle usually are not simply these associated to the Ukrainian-Russian drawback however to the sale of weapons, the commerce of weapons,” he mentioned.
“We should always not play video games with the martyrdom of this folks. We now have to assist them resolve issues … I see now that some international locations are transferring backwards, not wanting to provide (Ukraine) arms. A course of is beginning wherein the martyr definitely would be the Ukrainian folks and that’s an unpleasant factor,” he mentioned.
Requested for a clarification, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni mentioned the pope was not taking a stand on whether or not international locations ought to proceed to ship weapons to Ukraine or cease sending them.
“It was a mirrored image on the implications of the arms trade: the pope, with a paradox, was saying that those that visitors in weapons by no means pay the implications of their selections however depart them to be paid by folks, just like the Ukrainians, who’ve been martyred,” Bruni mentioned.
Quite a few international locations, together with america, face inside political stress to cease or curtail spending on weapons despatched to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to U.S. lawmakers on Thursday for continued assist amid doubts by some Republicans over whether or not Congress ought to approve extra help.
Pope Francis has condemned the worldwide arms commerce usually however mentioned final 12 months that it’s morally respectable for nations to produce weapons to Ukraine to assist the nation defend itself in opposition to Russian aggression.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
