Pope Francis Caused A Controversy After Saying Ukraine Should Raise “The White Flag” To Negotiate With Russia
“I think the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, of negotiating,” Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis has sparked a controversy after he suggested during an interview that Ukraine should “have the courage to raise the white flag” and negotiate with Russia to bring an end to the war.
On Saturday Mar. 9, Swiss broadcaster RSI released its interview with the pope.
In the interview, Francis was asked about the war in Ukraine, and he said Ukraine should take the first step to start negotiations.
“I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, of negotiating,” he said. “The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, when things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate.”
He added that Ukraine should not feel ashamed to start peace talks and underscored the importance of considering the people that may be killed if the war persists.
The pope also said that the peace talks should take place with the help of international powers as mediators.
Subsequently, his statement was widely interpreted by many as urging Ukraine to surrender, leading to severe backlash.
“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.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on X, formerly Twitter, the day following the broadcast.
In a video expressing gratitude towards Ukrainian religious leaders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also indirectly responded to the Pope’s remarks.
“This is what the Church is: one with the people. Not two and a half thousand kilometers away—somewhere, looking for a virtual meditation between those who want to live and those who want to destroy you,” he said.
The pope’s remark also led to criticism from Ukraine’s allies.
“My Sunday morning take: One must not capitulate in [the] face of evil. One must fight it and defeat it, so that the evil raises the white flag and capitulates,” Latvia’s president Edgars Rinkēvičs shared on X.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, meanwhile, wrote on X, “How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine? Peace would immediately ensue without the need for negotiations.”
Following the backlash, a Vatican spokesman clarified on Saturday night that the pope supported “a stop to hostilities (and) a truce achieved with the courage of negotiations,” rather than an outright surrender from Ukraine.
He emphasized that the term “white flag” was initially used by the interviewer, which the Pope then adopted in his response.
