'Our Flag Is Yellow & Blue': Ukraine Dismisses Pope's Call For Negotiation With Russia

Ukraine has rebuffed Pope Francis's call for negotiation with Russia to end the war, however, Kyiv has refused to cease.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Pope Francis was engaging in “virtual mediation”.

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Ukraine on Sunday rejected Pope Francis’ call to negotiate an end to the war with Russia. According to Reuters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Pope was engaging in “virtual mediation”, while the foreign minister said Kyiv would never surrender.

This comes after the Pope suggested in an interview published on Saturday that Ukraine should negotiate with Russia, which has seized large parts of Ukrainian territory during the ongoing war. As per Reuters, the Pope said that when things are going badly for a party in a conflict one has to show the “courage of the white flag” and negotiate.

"When you see that you are defeated, that things are not working out, to have the courage to negotiate,” Pope Francis was quoted by AFP. 

As per Reuters, the Pope's interview was believed to be the first time Pope Francis has used terms like "white flag" or "defeated" in discussing the Ukraine war, though he has referred in the past to the need for talks.

Though Zelenskyy did not directly reference Pope Francis’ comment, he mentioned religious figures helping inside Ukraine. "They support us with prayer, with their discussion and with deeds. This is indeed what a church with the people is," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, reported by Reuters.

"Not 2,500 km away, somewhere, virtual mediation between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you”, he added.

'Our flag is a yellow and blue'

Similarly, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba took to X (formerly Twitter), and echoed Zelenskyy's sentiments, he asserted Ukraine's commitment to its national flag.

"Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags," Kuleba wrote on X. He also drew historical parallels, referring to Pope Pius XII's alleged inaction during World War Two Kulbela urged the Vatican to stand firmly with Ukraine in its struggle for survival.

Similarly, the head of Ukraine's Eastern Rite Catholic Church, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, also rejected the pope's comments.

"Ukraine is wounded, but not conquered! Ukraine is exhausted, but it stands and will stand!" the church's website quoted Shevchuk as saying in New York. Believe me, no one has any idea of ​​surrendering", as per Reuters.