German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met with leading Vatican officials on Thursday, ahead of an international conference in the Italian capital focused on EU security and the war in Ukraine.
Germany’s top diplomat was received by Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with foreign states.
The new leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV has been pushing for quick peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, offering the Vatican as a possible venue for talks several times.
Following the meeting at the Vatican, Germany’s Wadephul is due meet with French, Polish, British, Italian and Spanish colleagues to discuss trans-Atlantic security and further support for Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and EU foreign policy representative Kaja Kallas are also due to join in the discussions, which come some two weeks ahead of a major NATO summit in The Hague.