Russia, Vatican Manage to Keep Faithful, Trustful Dialogue - Lavrov
11:19 GMT 25.08.2026 (Updated: 11:27 GMT 25.08.2026)
© Press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia and the Vatican have managed to maintain a faithful and trustful dialogue despite the events in the world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
"We note that despite all the turbulence in the world, we have managed to maintain a trusting, mutually respectful dialogue with the Vatican, which will allow us to seek, I hope, positive and feasible solutions," Lavrov said at talks with Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
Lavrov added that he hopes the meeting will be fruitful.
"I hope that our conversation today will also be useful, and I am ready to address the issues of interest to you in the spirit of seeking mutually acceptable agreements," Lavrov added.
Russia is grateful to the Vatican for its balanced position on the situation in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
"We thanked our colleagues for their balanced position on the situation in and around Ukraine, and outlined Russia's principled approaches to resolving the Ukrainian crisis based on eliminating its root causes," Lavrov told a press conference following talks with Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher in Moscow.
Relations between Russia and the Vatican are still trusting, Lavrov said.
"We highly appreciated the active involvement of the Vatican in resolving a number of acute humanitarian issues in the context of the conflict in Ukraine. We confirmed our mutual commitment to continue bilateral cooperation in this area, including on the extremely sensitive so-called 'children's dossier," Lavrov added.
Russia also expects that the Vatican in its contacts with Ukraine will pay attention to the actions against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Lavrov said.
In June, a Ukrainian drone struck a bus carrying a children's football team from Belarus in Russian Bryansk region, killing a woman accompanying the team and injuring eight people, including six children.
In May, a drone strike on a dormitory in the city of Starobelsk in the Lugansk People's Republic killed 21 people and wounded more than 40, with a missile hitting a residential area.
In May, a drone strike on a dormitory in the city of Starobelsk in the Lugansk People's Republic killed 21 people and wounded more than 40, with a missile hitting a residential area.
Vatican Considers Necessary to Maintain Dialogue Despite Challenges
The Vatican considers that is necessary to maintain dialogue despite all the challenges, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said on Tuesday.
"We are here precisely because we do believe that in this difficult climate of international relations the dialogue is more important than ever," Gallagher said at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
In the current world climate diplomacy is key, the official said.
"That the world has more need of diplomacy rather than ever. So we appreciate this meeting, this discussion which we will have this morning," Gallagher said.
